


There's No Solace Beneath The Waves

by unavoidablekoishi



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Big Spoilers, HUGE SPOILERS, I have no idea where I'm going with this, It started as a oneshot but it could be more, Multi, Potentially a rewrite
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-11
Updated: 2017-07-15
Packaged: 2018-11-12 23:00:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 34,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11171889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unavoidablekoishi/pseuds/unavoidablekoishi
Summary: [NDRV3 SPOILERS]Toujou has a change of heart at the right moment.Hoshi finds himself to be more useful than he could've imagined.





	1. Chapter 1

Unconsciousness is darker than pitch black- it’s dark enough that you can’t even see the dark, you can’t remember the dark and that’s the worst kind of darkness there is, in his opinion.

 

He doesn’t remember the first time it went dark. It was all so sudden and, had he had a peaceful moment of consciousness upon waking up, he might’ve realised just how that darkness enveloped him.

 

The second time was worse. It wasn’t sudden- he wouldn’t call coming back to consciousness ‘waking up’ in that situation, it was more of a shock that a gentle rouse and though those brief moments of consciousness were anything but peaceful, he was able to piece together what was happening from the water in his eyes, the lack of oxygen and the hand shakily holding the back of his head.

 

For the first time- he didn’t want to die. He was scared to die.

 

He didn’t want to go like this- this was painful- it was scary, it was like being sick. After it was over, everything would be okay. He tried to tell himself it was for the best and that it was okay but human nature doesn’t let thoughts like that into the brain. All he could do in an attempt to survive was struggle weakly against the handcuffs.

 

If he could breath, he’d be hyperventilating. He was going to die. He was going to die.

 

He was dying.

 

Unconsciousness.

 

That kind of dark, was the only dark he was really scared of- now it would be that way forever, or at least, that’s what his dying brain told him as water rushed into his lungs.

 

He never expected to wake up.

 

He jolted upright, allowing a jet of murky water to spew from his lips and over the floor. A few moments passed as he emptied the excess water from his system, feeling his cold, clammy hands clutch the slippery floor with everything he had- he was alive. He was alive.

 

Though it was painful, he relished the fact his lungs were taking in air- the lack of breath reminded him of many training matches that left him puking on the floor or passed out on the court but this was nothing like that.

 

He almost died.

 

Though the thought passed his brain many times, he was too busy getting his bearings. He felt his insides slosh nauseatingly as he retched once more and covered the floor with the water that almost killed him.

 

What was he doing? Where...was he- where was he right now? This place was very familiar to him.

 

His thoughts were interrupted as a drop of hot water smacked against his hand. And another. And another…

 

He looked up, feeling his eyes burn from the water.

 

“T...Toujou…?”

 

The sight of Toujou’s face, contorted in anguish with tears streaming down her cheeks brought him to a realisation. 

 

Toujou was undeniably a very pretty lady- but this was very far from pretty. This wasn’t small tears, pretty crying, a slight twist of the lips- it was ugly, terrified and painful crying and for a moment, he reached up to console her.

 

She was the reason he almost died.

 

Yet...she may have also been the reason he was still here now.

 

His brain was still rather fuzzy- how did he come to know Toujou again? They never went to school together. Did drowning really have these kinds of effects on people? Then again, he did almost die.

 

His heart skipped a beat every time the fact crossed his mind.

 

He’d almost died.

 

He could only imagine what had awaited him on death row.

 

But...he was never on death row…? Was he? He had memories of jail, but…-- this didn’t make sense at all. 

 

Toujou slumped to her knees, shoulders shaking and hands to her mouth as the tears continued to fall down her face. Hoshi now realised he’d been staring blankly at her for the past few minutes.

 

“Toujou…” He repeated, quietly. That...was her name, wasn’t it?

 

Her mouth opened and a slight croak escaped but no words formed- he could however, see the movement of her lips all too clearly.

 

‘I’m sorry’

 

He brought a hand to his head, feeling the lack of his beanie- it must’ve come off in the water. Was...was his hair always this short? He felt disconnected in a way he’d never felt before- it was like being trapped in somebody else’s body.

 

He could hear Toujou near hyperventilation in front of him- she struggled to take a few deep breaths as she brought her hands to her lap.

 

“I-Infirmary.” She rasped.

 

Infirmary? He supposed that would be right- after all, he nearly drowned. It would only be logical. Where was the infirmary anyway?

 

Toujou struggled to get to her feet but her shaky knees and high heels only caused her to slump back down. Despite being the victim, Hoshi crawled over and took her wet, gloved hands in his. Though at the moment, he remembered very little about her, he couldn’t leave her like this.

 

Even if...she had tried to kill him.

 

“Toujou...what happened?” His throat was sore, acid-burned and all his words came out as a gurgle but he managed. Toujou’s eyes were still wet and puffy with tears and she stared down, as if trying to piece together what she had done.

 

He reached up to wipe away the trail of snot from under her nose with his thumb. He didn’t care if it was disgusting- hell he was sat in a puddle of his own puke. Anything went at this point.

 

Toujou forced a tiny smile of appreciation at his gesture.

 

“I...I tried to kill you.” She replied, honestly and that was it. She offered nothing else. She asked for no forgiveness and didn’t lie about it. Hoshi respected that greatly.

 

“Why? I mean...I’m a little out of it…” He tapped his aching head with a small finger and offered a small smile to her.

 

Toujou took a few deep breaths, now having stopped hyperventilating and the tears began to dry on her rose-stained cheeks. “We all received a Mono-Pad. It...held videos of the people we loved and held dear to us- it was a motive to bring us to kill each other. I...suppose it worked.” She laughed, bitterly.

 

Come to think of it- that did sound familiar.

 

“My actions were...unforgivable. I understand that clearly.”

 

Hoshi processed her answer before reiterating, “Why?”

 

She sniffled. “From your behaviour and the contents of your own Mono-Pad, it was...very clear to me you had little left to live for, at least...in comparison to the others. I know that’s not an excuse, but...for the sake of the country- I-I had to do something…”

 

He nodded silently.

 

“The whole time I...planned this, I was fine but...feeling you go limp under me just-- I couldn’t...even for the sake of an entire country- I could not do it. I’m...so sorry…” Fresh tears began to brim and stain her thin, pale eyelashes, but Hoshi now had an idea of the situation. It did sound rather familiar.

 

“It’s...okay. It’s okay.” He rasped out, feeling his head throb and the ends of his fingertips tingle. “I’m not dead. You didn’t kill me.” Consoling somebody who plotted to kill you was a surreal feeling indeed. Had Toujou not had a change of heart, he’d be floating dead in that tank instead of sat in a puddle of watery puke, wiping the snot and tears from the maid’s face.

 

“We...should get you to the infirmary. How are you feeling?” Toujou rested a hand on his shoulder, poised ready to pick him up and speed him right off to where he needed to be.

 

“I don’t know, it’s...a bit vague. Everything kinda hurts but- I’ll be fine, alright? Why don’t we just...get to somewhere else…” The sight of the tank beside him was making him feel overwhelmingly ill. Toujou nodded, before easily scooping him up into her damp arms and carrying him away, still slightly shaky.

 

Hoshi opened his mouth to protest, but there was really little point. His legs were weak and he was sure if he stood up he’d get too dizzy and pass out. Not to mention, Toujou probably wouldn’t let him anyway.

 

He hoped nobody else would see this.

 

Instead of the infirmary, Toujou took him straight back to his room. Hoshi pondered the lack of people around, now fully understanding where he was but- something seemed very off. Why was he here again?

 

She took the key from his pocket and opened the door, closing it behind her and setting him down on his bed.

 

“I think it would be best for you to get out of those wet clothes.” She insisted, peeling his jacket from his slightly limp form. Hoshi sighed, letting her do her thing. He wouldn’t mind a shower right about now.

 

“Toujou, could you just...if I get undressed, would you mind just turning the shower on for me? I just need to sit in there for a bit…” He rubbed his eyes, feeling oddly exhausted, as he pulled his shoes off, feeling the chain around his ankle rattle.

 

Toujou nodded immediately, speeding off to the bathroom, still shaky on her heels, leaving him to get undressed. He slowly wriggled out of his clothes, letting them slap against the floor in a wet bunch. 

 

He experimentally set his feet down on the bed, feeling his knees shake uncontrollably beneath him. He was still shaking from the whole experience, and not because he was freezing cold. Using the wall as support, he edged his way over to the bathroom where the sounds of running water emanated.

 

Toujou fiddled meticulously with the shower knob, before settling at a certain level. 

 

“It’s not hot, it’s only lukewarm but it should slowly help you get warmer…” She said, dutifully ignoring the fact he was lingering in the doorway in only his underwear and the metal chain clamped around his tiny ankle.

 

“Thanks…” He mumbled, letting Toujou make herself scarce as he headed for the shower. This was...just strange. He was glad he wasn’t dead- it was...an experience. He couldn’t find the words to describe it, but it was an experience.

 

Wrapped up in his thoughts, he stepped beneath the showers stream, not at all interested in removing his underwear for the moment. He just needed to get warm. He was freezing cold. Was...death always that cold? 

 

Death was cold. It was a dark.

 

It was...wet.

 

He couldn’t stop the shriek from escaping from his lips.

 

Toujou, having found his spare clothes and was neatly folding them up on the bed in a pile, dropped one of the spare jackets, and with all trembles and shakes disappearing from her body, she all but kicked the door open.

 

He was crouched into a ball on the shower floor, screeching hoarsely and covering his head with his hands- hyperventilating, crying.

 

She grabbed a towel from the rack and shut the water off, placing the towel over his quivering form. She must’ve been stupid for not realising and he obviously wasn’t thinking either- of course taking a shower after almost drowning would be the worst thing to do. She needed to calm him down and find another way to warm him up.

 

Careful not to touch his head or the back of his neck at all, she placed her hands on his back and slowly eased him against her and out of the shower. He was sopping wet, in his underwear and muffling his screams into his hands but she held him close to her, away from the water and slowly began to dry what she could of his body with the towel.

 

It took over fifteen minutes for him to finally calm down and by that time, both he and Toujou were fully dry. 

 

“I-I’m sorry, I never thought about what I was doing. I’ll find another way to warm you up.”

 

He remained silent and allowed Toujou to carry him back into his room. She laid him back onto the bed, curled up in the towel, before heading for the door.

 

“I’ll...go and get you something warm to drink and something to eat.” It might not’ve been a good idea, but she could do no else. She felt shame creep up her back and the tears sting the back of her eyes as she brewed some tea.

 

This was all her fault. As if he hadn’t been suffering enough before- the death of his loved ones, the murder of the mafia, his sentence to death row- and she had to drown him. Maybe he would be better off if she’d finished the job.

 

Maybe...it wasn’t too late.

 

No, that wasn’t possible. She couldn’t do that again. Even...when the country was at stake- how could she…?

 

She silently placed the teapot onto a tray along with a few sweet snacks- some liquorice, as she knew he liked, and diligently took the tray back to his room.

 

He was still curled up on the bed when she returned- as for if he was awake or not, she did not know. She crept over and gently lifted the towel that covered the portion of his face to check.

 

His face was screwed up, as if he was trying not to cry, and she felt her legs buckle beneath her.

 

“I-I’m….sorry…”


	2. Wish Upon a Shooting Star

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'd like to point out i have no idea what i'm doing

Toujou couldn’t quite bring herself to leave the tennis player alone- somebody had to be there if this happened again and...she wasn’t one to say, but perhaps it was better if it was her and nobody else. Then again...she was the one to try and kill him. Being around him probably made him worse.

 

She had to explain to the others what happened. She couldn’t keep it from them. 

 

She stood stone still, watching Hoshi as he slowly, painfully, slipped his clean clothes back on. On another thought, she’d always wondered how he’d managed to get his clothes on around the chain on his ankle- it must be frustrating.

 

After becoming somewhat decent, he flopped back down onto the bed and curled up on his side.

 

“There’s...some tea and some sweets here should you want some. I’ll...be taking my leave now.”

 

“Wait.”

 

He gave a spluttered choke, feeling a small regurgitation of water splatter against his clenched fist. Leaving him alone wasn’t such a good idea when he was in this kind of state- he could potentially die if she left him, but she was torn.

 

“Shit...Toujou, I’m...sorry--”

 

Toujou had never been brought to tears faster. She brought a gloved hand to her lips to try to muffle the whines that rumbled in her throat. Why was he apologising? He never, ever had to apologise to her- not after what happened.

 

“Shoulda known better than to get in the shower, huh…” He smiled but it was humourless. His eyes were dull and he looked pale and exhausted. She would absolutely keep an eye on him while he slept for as long as he needed if he asked, but it didn’t feel like her place to do so.

 

“I...don’t really know what else to say- I mean...truthfully...I understand why you did that. Anybody would do that in your position and frankly...if it got you out...I don’t think I’d mind dying all that much.” He mumbled.

 

“Just...just snap my neck next time, okay?”

 

She let out a splutter as the tears she’d fought desperately to keep hidden rolled down her cheeks.

 

“W-Woah, don’t...don’t cry...please.” He looked up at her with uncertainty. “I’m fine, alright? I don’t hold anything against you at all. I mean...from a bigger perspective, what you did was probably the best thing to do. It’s not like...I have much to live for…”

 

The way he finished his sentence was strange, Toujou noted. She wondered if he was still having troubles recalling past events.

 

“H-How...is your memory now?” She questioned, wiping her tears away with the back of her hand. Hoshi shrugged lamely, bringing a hand to his head. “I don’t know, I just-...it feels really weird. It’s like living in somebody else’s body. I’m remembering things from the past but...I think I’m remembering things that contradict them…?”

 

He shook his head tiredly. “That doesn’t make much sense. Sorry…”

 

Toujou pondered his words carefully. “No I think...if that makes sense to you. Well, given our current situation, it might prove to mean a lot more.”

 

“You think…?”

 

Toujou nodded, before taking a seat on the bed beside him. “It is possible…”

 

They remained silent for a moment. Maybe Hoshi was sympathetic towards her because of the murders he’d committed in the past- perhaps he could relate to her. He clearly held no grudges, if he was the type to hold grudges, and though he seemed a little dazed and obviously prone to attacks of panic, he seemed...okay.

 

“How are you feeling?”

 

Hoshi offered a weak smile. “Well...I’m not suicidal anymore.”

 

Toujou almost wanted to smile back.

 

\--------

 

 

Toujou offered to stay the night in his room to watch over him, in case of any medical complications that required outside assistance, not to mention he was still a little jumpy from the events.

 

She brewed a fresh pot of tea to keep her going through the night and picked out a few choice books from the library, settling herself at the table ready to read through the night.

 

She knew something would happen- and it did.

 

She could hear him tossing and turning, breathing far too heavily that normal- it was only when he sat up and and for about ten seconds, screamed at the top of his lungs, did Toujou act. She silently blessed the soundproof walls that surrounded them as she rushed to the side of the bed to provide support. 

 

He choked and shook before retching, allowing a spew of acid to escape his lips and onto the bed. Toujou held his back gently, avoiding the back of his head, and gently held him through it. Once he appeared to have purged his stomach of all it’s contents, she scrambled to wash out a teacup and fill it with water.

 

As bad as an idea as that sounded, there was little else she could do.

 

She offered him the cup, telling him ‘It’s water’ before actually showing him.

 

He was panicked and hesitant to take the cup. She gently patted his back, telling him to take small, small sips so as not to overwhelm himself. The cup shook violently in his hand, causing a small amount of water to spill onto the blanket- not that it mattered. 

 

Toujou peeled the duvet back and stripped it of it’s vomit-stained cover, disposing of it in the laundry basket and vowing to clean it up later.

 

Hoshi trembled weakly where he sat, pale and sweating as he gripped the teacup in his hands. Toujou offered a few soothing words and grabbed another spare change of clothes, seeing as the ones he was wearing were drenched with sweat.

 

It took half an hour to settle him back down to sleep. He rose once more around the crack of dawn, but with less screaming and she was also able to get him to the toilet before he vomited again.

 

He stayed awake after that- Toujou brought him downstairs and brewed them both some tea. They sat silently, watching the sun rise from beyond the glass as the others slowly began to wake one by one.

 

Toujou was certain Hoshi should take time away from the large group and talk to maybe the less excitable of the group. But perhaps she was wrong. Perhaps she didn’t know what was best.

 

She had no idea what to do with herself. She had to tell the others what she’d done.

 

The thought alone of doing that made her feel sick to her stomach. She’d have to admit to the whole group that she genuinely attempted to kill somebody. She was the one they were supposed to rely on.

 

She felt her hands shake in her lap- Hoshi sat next to her, gingerly sipping his tea and trying to remove all thoughts of liquids from his mind. 

 

“Hey~ Look who’s joinin’ us for breakfast!”

 

That shrill screech could only really be Iruma. Hoshi flinched, having dealt with enough for several months, he wanted to excuse himself and go back to his room but Toujou looked so pale--

 

He rested a hand on hers. She flinched.

 

“You...don’t have to tell them.” He whispered, as the other students began to file in and take their places at the table. Toujou swallowed, nodding shakily, before excusing herself to brew some more tea for the other students.

 

He couldn’t blame her- admitting she’d attempted to kill him merely 24 hours earlier. He’d annihilated an entire mafia organization, and technically, he deserved to die, so what she did was practically nothing.

 

Well…it wasn’t nothing to him. Even though he sympathised with her, even though he consoled her, even though he let her help him, he was still effectively traumatised due to the situation. Last night’s dream simulated that what happened in the tank and he was sure there were many more of those dreams to come.

 

But forgiveness doesn’t solve trauma, no matter how much Hoshi wished it would.

 

Nonetheless, he wasn’t about to tell everybody what Toujou did- he knew that was exactly what she was planning. Maybe another time, but right now wasn’t wise. Even she was still shaken by yesterday’s events.

 

But looking around at the sea of faces- sea being the most nauseating word to use, Hoshi felt ill. He had to get back to his bedroom. He swallowed thickly, shakily stepping down from his chair and moseying back to his room, leaving the questioning looks behind him.

 

Even now, he couldn’t quite believe it had all happened.

 

He returned to his room and lay down on his bed, having been changed several times since yesterday. He still felt a lingering nausea- constant and unwavering, that only really kicked up when--

 

….when he thought about it.

 

He sighed.

 

And to make matters worse, the deal with his odd recollection of memories was disorienting at the very least. He had vague memories of his life in prison, his life on death row, but for a moment after he’d woken up, he remembered nothing. He remembered...something else?

 

The near death experience had taken a bigger toll on him than he’d expected. 

 

He slipped out of his leather jacket and clothes. He wasn’t in the mood to do much else but lie in bed, though that gave him ample time to contemplate the events of yesterday which probably wasn’t a great idea.

 

What the hell was this killing game even about…? Of course, everybody was trying to figure that out, weren’t they? They all woke up here- the Monocubs arrived, the Exisals, Monokuma himself officiating the killing game- the-

 

The trial of the murder of Amami Rantarou. 

 

He remembered everything perfectly clear from when he woke up here up to now. Before that...things seemed fuzzy- he couldn’t tell if he was fantasising or not. 

 

He brought a hand up to itch the back of his shoulder, trying to will the nausea away. Which shoulder did he have the tattoo on again?

 

Oh, yeah, the left one. A monochrome shooting star arched over his left shoulder- a tattoo he’d received in prison before he’d received his death senten--

 

That wasn’t right.

 

He got that tattoo for his eighteenth birthday.

 

He sat up, fingers grazing over the tattoo- how did he get that tattoo again? Did it- did it even exist? He stumbled out of bed and headed to the bathroom. Pointedly ignoring the shower, he dragged a stool up against the sink and craned to see his back in the bathroom mirror.

 

The tattoo remained. A shooting star. A memory of his eighteenth birthday- no, a memory of his life in prison--

 

.....

 

...which one was it?


	3. Hidden Ink

He woke up with a start two hours later, drenched in sweat and-- oh god. He dropped his head in his hands- there was no sign of vomiting, though the nausea remained, but the sheets were cold and wet beneath him, telling him only one thing.

 

This meant he had to trudge all the way to find new bedsheets- wash those ones preferably without anybody finding out-- though...Toujou would understand, despite how shameful it felt.

 

He still didn’t understand just why he wasn’t scared of her- why the sight of her didn’t set a weight of anxiety in his stomach and why he was willing to let her help him.

 

He wanted to cry.

 

He stumbled out of bed, away from the sopping sheets, taking a sip of the stone cold tea left on the tray on the table. He smelled terrible- he needed to wash but...he couldn’t get back in the shower again. No way.

 

God, what was he supposed to do? He was drinking day-old tea in wet underwear covered in the scent of sweat and vomit with a wet bed, a newfound fear of water, constant nausea and memories that didn’t make an ounce of sense.

 

He broke down, now crouched over on himself, gripping the carpet with his shaking fingers as he screamed into the floor. It was fucking hopeless.

 

She should’ve finished the job.

 

But even though that thought crossed his mind- all he could feel now was a surge of imaginary water filling up his lungs, blurring his eyes, blocking his throat-- he shuddered before vomiting onto the floor with a painful groan.

 

He had to breathe- he had to breathe- but he couldn’t- the water wouldn’t let him, it wouldn’t let him- he was going to die again, he was--

 

The feeling of dainty hands on his back brought alarm, but he felt a tiny hint of safety from them. Pull him back, pull him out of the water- he didn’t want to die, he didn’t want to die--

 

“Hoshi!”

 

He shot back up, inhaling as much air as his empty lungs would allow- tears streaking down his cheeks as a whine escaped his lips, the hands on his back, he saw, belonged to Toujou, who watched him with an extreme expression of concern.

 

“You’re going to be alright.” She told him softly, though his cries and the heavy breaths of hyperventilation almost drowned her out entirely. She allowed him to collapse against her, clutching the fabric of her dress and staining it with tears as she repeated soft words to help calm him down.

 

This time it only took ten minutes for him to ease down slightly. Every now and again he’d sniffle or hiccup, but his breathing was becoming steadier by the minute. She gently rubbed his back.

 

“Your bed sheets are wet.” She stated- the smell could’ve told her that anyway.

 

He nodded weakly. 

 

“Don’t worry. I’ll wash them with the rest- nobody has to know.” 

 

Another weak nod.

 

“And you need to wash. I can fetch a bowl of soapy water for you and you can wipe yourself down- that will be much better than getting into the shower.”

 

“Toujou.”

 

She looked down at him- he reeled away slightly, his face was red, slightly swollen from tears and his voice was hoarse.

 

“Can I tell you something…?”

 

“Of course you can.”

 

He paused, pulling the damp shirt away from his sweat-drenched torso, before pulling at it to take it off. Toujou quickly aided him, much to his despair, but he allowed it. He was tired. He was utterly exhausted.

 

“What did you want to tell me?”

 

He shifted around to show Toujou his shoulder. Her eyes widened but she didn’t look surprised.

 

“I can’t...remember how I got this tattoo.”

 

“Would...that be because of the memories we lost right before we woke up here…?”

 

He shook his head. “No, I...I do remember- I just...remember two different versions. I remember getting this tattoo done in prison, that was before I was shifted to death row.” 

 

Her eyebrows furrowed but she remained silent.

 

“And...I also remember getting it done on my eighteenth birthday, as a present for myself, I guess.”

 

Ah, that make some amount of sense- especially as to what he was talking about yesterday. Having memories that contradict each other- could that have been triggered by the near death experience?

 

“Do you...have any other memories like that?”

 

Hoshi paused, sitting back on his heels, now rather used to being somewhat indecent in front of Toujou.

 

“I remember...I remember seeing...the corpses of my family- my mother’s corpse.”

 

“Your mother specifically…?”

 

He nodded, swallowing thickly. “Yet...I remember seeing her in a hospital- attached to...all these tubes and wires and stuff.”

 

“Do you think she survived?”

 

He shook his head. “She was dead. I...I’m not sure what to think. I’m the only one getting these thoughts, right…? Jeez, maybe I’m just going mental…” He gave a wheezy, bitter laugh.

 

But Toujou shook her head seriously, “I believe...you may be onto something. We lost our memories prior to arriving here- who’s to say any of our memories are real. I believe it’s certainly possible…”

 

Hoshi looked slightly pained. “But...what am I supposed to do about ‘em? I can’t tell what’s real and what’s fake…”

 

“Well...do you have anything else on your body that triggers memories? Something perhaps as solid as your tattoo…?”

 

“I have no other tattoo’s. I have...scars, I guess. Scars from prison- or that’s what I remember.”

 

Toujou hummed softly. “After I put the sheets on to wash and you get yourself cleaned up- do you mind if you showed me?”

 

He looked momentarily surprised. “I...guess so.”

 

Toujou rose, heading over to strip the bed of it’s sheets. Hoshi winced, shrinking in on himself a little. He needed something to eat…

 

* * *

 

 

Sitting on a clean bed felt good- it was a small pleasure he hadn’t felt in some time.

 

“I suppose having me inspect your body is a strange thing to happen…” Toujou commented with a small smile. Hoshi shrugged. “Think I’ll choose to feel flattered.”

 

He wasn’t wearing anything else besides underwear, the chain around his ankle and a towel draped over his shoulders. He hadn’t much to hide in ways of scars.

 

“You have a few on your wrist…” Toujou stated, taking his hand and gazing down at the raised marks on the skin. Hoshi shrugged. “Had a few problems. I didn’t sleep well here the first couple of nights. Don’t think anybody did, really.”

 

“You have one here…” She raised her hand to brush gently at the hair above his ear.

 

“I slipped over a pavement as a kid and cracked my head on it.” He explained with a small smile, as if it were a fond childhood memory.

 

She gazed over his shoulder, prompting him to remove the towel and turn around.

 

“Your tattoo is very nice.” She complimented. “I think it suits you. You say you got that for your birthday?”

 

“Or prison. I don’t know…”

 

“Hoshi- you...have something black, down here…” She gently poked his underwear right on his left asscheck, causing him to suddenly jump. “Huh? Whaddya mean, black?”

 

“Black as in-- would you mind….?”

 

He gave a short groan, before hooking his stubby fingers over his waistband and sliding them down partially.

 

“I thought you said you didn’t have another tattoo…?” Feeling her gloved fingers rub against his ass was really something else, but-- another tattoo?

 

“I don’t have another tattoo…”

 

Toujou looked at him quizzically. “But, you do. It’s right here. It says…’Saza’?”

 

“Saza….”

 

“Does that mean anything to you?”

 

He shuffled back around, deep in thought, trying to rack his brain for any other relevant memories.

 

“I...wait- I think...damnit...I had, I had a childhood friend.” He suddenly announced. “Katsuzaki Saza, we used to go to a club together. She has the same condition that I do.” He says, surprise in his voice, but his eyelids droop slightly along with his tone as he adds, “She was a bitch.”

 

“You don’t like her?”

 

“No, I love her- she was my best friend. I’m...somehow not surprised that I have her name tattooed on my ass, that makes perfect sense.”

 

Toujou’s eyes widened. “Then- at what opportunity would she have been able to tattoo her own name onto your body?”

 

His own surprised expression mirrored hers.

 

“When I’m shitfaced drunk in a tattoo parlour on my eighteenth birthday.”

 

Toujou cracked a smile. “You remember her being there with you?”

 

“I remember her calling me a pussy about getting one on several occasions.” He grunted. “Of course she’d tattoo her name on my ass while I was drunk.”

 

“But...that means that the memory you have of getting your shooting star tattoo in prison is false- you weren’t even aware of the tattoo you have...down there.”

 

He nodded.

 

“Hoshi...when were you arrested?”

 

He looks down at his hands, flexing them as if trying to see if they were real or not.

 

“Before my eighteenth birthday. I...remember talking to my girlfriend- she was trying to figure out what to get me before she...died.”

 

“So...if we think about the situation logically, that tattoo and the memory you have of your birthday is proof that...there’s a chance you were never arrested in the first place.”


	4. Bonding Over Attempted Murder

Hoshi pointedly ignored his own research lab from then on out- it wasn’t like he had to a reason to go in there before, having abandoned tennis, but the thought of the tank- the thought of a body of water as big as that tank, made him feel queasy.

 

Drinking was now more surreal to him than it could ever be. He’d mostly been living off tea as the taste was vastly different than water though the feeling of liquid dribbling down his throat made his stomach twist.

 

He only drank water after he’d puked. Tea just made the taste worse.

 

Getting himself clean was more of a chore than before- he could stand to use the shower, he wasn’t risking using the sink and above that, the endless night sweats, occasional accidentals and vomiting spells made him smell terrible on a daily basis. Living was becoming more and more of a chore to him.

 

There were, however, a few good things to come out from his encounter with death- ironically one of them being he’d grown a lot closer to Toujou. It was like a murder attempt was a form of bonding. She still insisted after several days to stay in his room and watch over him, should he need somebody there, but even he knew that she spent the better part of the early morning hours stifling tears over a book.

 

But, since the incident, he preferred to spend less time in bed than before, he found himself sat in the cafeteria with Toujou long before the morning announcement would sound. He learnt further of the country she was to govern, remembering the short explanation she’d given him before he’d died.

 

It was also quite some time before he realised he’d willingly gone along with her plan.

 

He was surprised the drowning hadn’t reduced him to a vegetable or worse but Toujou seemed to be taking good care of him. It sounded strange but he trusted her. Of course, remembering he’d gone along with the plan implied that she didn’t just take him by surprise but part of him wondered just why he’d go along with it to begin with.

 

And not only that, but she failed, meaning she’d have to find a different way to return home. There were too many people that were relying on her and if he could, maybe he’d single handedly kill everybody here so she could go home. It wasn’t like he hadn’t done it before.

 

Well...that memory was hazy at best, and with the proof that he didn’t really go to jail, he was at a loss. Were his memories all...fake? 

 

Toujou, herself, took the time to evaluate her own memories but nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but now she was led to believe there was definitely some memory altercation at work here.

 

“Do you remember what Amami said about the Super High School Level Hunt?”

 

The question brought him surprise, seeing how he’d forgotten it a little after the trial. He nodded an affirmation, taking a small, tentative sip of his tea.

 

“Might you remember anything regarding that?”

 

He pondered the thought for a moment- his head felt oddly empty as it had done over the past few days.

 

“I don’t think so…”

 

“But...we can safely deduce that you were never truly arrested- the tattoo of the name proves you had your shooting star tattoo done in a tattoo parlour and not in prison.”

 

“Does...that mean that memory is just a fabrication?”

 

“If they managed to erase our memories prior to arriving here, I can imagine false memories are a plausible idea.”

 

“Do you think Amami knew anything about this? He seemed to know a bit about that hunt, right?”

 

Toujou hummed, nursing her cup of tea. “There nothing to say what he knew of the hunt was true- that could’ve also been a fabrication, no?”

 

Hoshi slumped forward in his seat with a sigh. “So we can’t trust anything- not even our own memories. Jeez…”

 

“It is beginning to look like a mess, but I think your strange array of memories will be very helpful to us. I mean...did you remember your eighteenth birthday before I--”

 

She stopped, but he understood.

 

“I don’t think I did. I had no problems with my memories before, it was only after that did they start not making sense.”

 

“And since you technically have no memory of getting the other tattoo done- there was no memory of that to erase or alter, which makes it proof that you weren’t in jail.”

 

He gave a wheezy laugh. “Christ, trust Saza to pull something like this. Probably doesn’t even know she saved my ass.”

 

Toujou placed her empty teacup back on the tray, but a question was clearly on her mind. “Hoshi, is Saza dead?”

 

He looked somewhat taken aback. “Dead? I...I’m not sure. I think...she stopped hanging around after I got roped into those underground tennis matches.”

 

“Why do you think that might be?”

 

“I dunno- I don’t think she was fond of the idea at all. Well...I don’t remember seeing her at all during that period of time so I assume she left and found somebody else to hang around.”

 

“But she was never one of the ones targeted by the mafia…?”

 

“No, I don’t remember her turning up dead. Maybe she got lucky…”

 

Toujou eyed the clock- the morning announcement would sound soon and she would have to get a start on breakfast. “You say that the two of you were close friends- was she the type to abandon you even after you began playing those matches…?”

 

“Why does this sound like a therapy session…? And...I guess not. I mean, I’ve done some stupid and unsavoury shit in my life and she’s been clinging onto me since the beginning. Hell, she’d probably come down and root for me.”

 

“So doesn’t it seem odd that she’d just disappear on you like that?”

 

“She didn’t turn up to any of my trials, I guess...I assumed the mafia got her but maybe I’m wrong?”

 

“Is she the type to turn up to trials?”

 

“She’s the type to show up to your prostate exam wearing one of those fuckin’ foam hand things.” He said lowly, drinking the rest of his stone cold tea.

 

“The ones with the outstretched finger, like the number one sign?”

 

“Yeah, those ones.”

 

To his surprise, Toujou actually began to laugh, stifled slightly by her hand. He raised a non-existent eyebrow at her in questioning.

 

“Isn’t that...a little inappropriate…?” She outstretched her forefinger, “If you’re on the receiving end of a prostate exam, surely having one of those is--” She cut herself off with a choked laugh. It was only then did Hoshi get a grasp of what she was implying.

 

His lips twisted into a telltale grin before a low chuckle escape his lips. 

 

“I’m pretty sure they use two fingers, but I get what you mean…”

 

“Oh, you’ve already had one?”

 

He couldn’t choke out a ‘no’ quick enough, which only fuelled Toujou’s giggles. The lack of sleep must’ve made her more susceptible to giggling, which Hoshi found pretty cute in a way, but the current situation brought a heavy flush to his cheeks which he couldn’t get rid of.

 

“Forgive me, forgive me…” She smiled, “I was only teasing you- I apologise.”

 

“Nah, you don’t gotta apologise. Nice to see you got a sense of humour.” He smiled, as the morning announcement sounded throughout the building.

 

* * *

 

 

Hoshi forced himself to sit through breakfast with the others, tuning out their conversations and focusing only on his own breakfast. Did anybody else here have the same problem as him? Well...nobody else here had a near death experience, or not that he knew, but…

 

Amami seemed to be the only one who had any idea of why they could be here and now he was long dead. What did that leave them with?

 

His memories of his eighteenth birthday began returning more frequently, sometimes with new additions- including memories of Saza on that day, she was, without a doubt, with him on that night and the tattoo proved he was never in prison, but...why did it feel so real…?

 

Then there was the memory of his mother in the hospital- not lying dead on the floor at his feet- if he’d never gone to prison, then that means….it was possible he’d never killed anybody to begin with- and if that was the case, then it was most likely that his mother was in the hospital and not dead.

 

But then...all those matches...the grieving process after losing everybody he’d loved...the endless trials and the sentence of death...did that mean it was all fake? But if it was fake, then what was true? He still couldn’t remember anything prior to arriving here…

 

He returned to his room quickly having finished breakfast- somehow he felt even more disconnected from the others as he had before. Toujou had really kept his room tidy over the past few days but he was slightly concerned by her lack of sleep. He knew she hated resting but this was ridiculous.

 

Not wanting to even go near his bed, he settled down at the table, eyeing the books Toujou had brought from the library to read. The first one he picked up was ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’- did Toujou like these kinds of books?

 

He flicked through the first few pages- it was untranslated and remained in English but he knew enough English to read it. Come to think of it, if Toujou was the Super High School Level Maid, it probably wasn’t wrong to assume she could speak more than one language.

 

He hadn’t realised how wrapped up he’d gotten into the book until he felt a hand on his shoulder- Toujou looked down at him with a small smile. “I didn’t think you’d be into books like this.”

 

“Could say the same for you.” He replied, eyeing the page number and vowing to remember it. 

 

“How are your memories? Have you remembered anything new?”

 

He hummed, swivelling in his chair. “I guess...if I remember seeing my mother in the hospital- then...I guess there may be a chance she isn’t dead.”

 

“If you were never arrested, then it’d be safe to assume you never committed murder and by extent, your family and friends are all still alive.”

 

His face looked rather downcast, as if he were refusing to acknowledge that as a possibility. There was nothing worse than getting your hopes up, especially over something so important. He’d already accepted they were dead anyway…

 

“I think that makes sense- especially if you remember your mother in the hospital. Do you know why she was there?”

 

“No...I mean...she didn’t look physically injured- so maybe she was ill.”

 

“So no injuries...that can further prove that she was never attacked.” Toujou smiled. She really was trying to prove to him that there was hope that his family were still okay and as much as he wanted to appreciate that...he didn’t want to risk believing it again.

 

“I’ll keep that in mind. What about you?”

 

“I remember no different. There are no hints that I lived another life- these memories go back as far as my early childhood.”

 

“That’s fair enough, I guess...but if- if these memories...the ones of me getting arrested, going to jail- if that’s all fake, then...why?”

 

“Why did they implement such memories into you?”

 

He pulled his beanie off, wiping a thin layer of sweat off his forehead. “I don’t get it- what are they tryna pull by giving me a fake backstory? Is this supposed to make everybody else target me because I’m the most dangerous…? Why didn’t they just erase my memories and be done with it....” He sighed, slipping his beanie back on, but when he looked up at Toujou, she looked fearful.

 

“H-Hey...what’s up?”

 

“I-If…if it’s true, about your memories being false, then...what about me? Does this mean the people back home who are relying on me- are they not real?”

 

Hoshi looked alarmed- it didn’t make sense if the mastermind altered his memory and his memory alone- it seemed much more plausible for them to alter everybody’s and if it was their more recent memories that suffered, then--

 

It was possible the people in Toujou’s Mono-Pad didn’t exist at all. It was possible that Toujou didn’t have control over a country in the slightest and that her very motive for attempting to kill him was just fabricated.

 

“It...would make sense, right? And hey, if it is, then...there’s nobody out there who’s desperately relying on you. All those people on your Mono-Pad are just fine and this motive is...void, I guess.”

 

“Do...you think so?”

 

He gently took one of her hands. “Logically, it makes sense. I don’t think you have anything to worry about.”

 

She smiled.


	5. Peaceful Waves

The pair spent most of their day wrapped up in conversation- Hoshi hadn’t felt compelled to actually talk to anybody, believing himself to be nothing more than a worthless killer- the scum of the earth, but discovering that that fact may have been fabricated…

 

Not to mention Toujou was interesting to talk to. As nice and polite as she was, she appeared wooden at first- not openly expressing her own interests and desires because that’s what a maid does, and convincing Toujou to talk about herself was difficult, but he wasn’t worried.

 

They talked about books for the most part, stemming from the pile of books Toujou had built on the table. Hoshi, himself, wasn’t a big reader, he was much more of an active person, but it didn’t hurt to find a distraction- not to mention Toujou seemed very knowledgeable in the way of old classics.

 

Though to reflect that, Hoshi spent more time listening to music than reading, which Toujou spent little time doing. Hoshi had a fairly extensive playlist set up on his phone before he arrived here, able to recommend plenty of bands and good songs, suggesting Toujou could listen to them while she worked.

 

They weren’t necessarily similar, but their personalities complimented each other well. Toujou found herself returning to his room when she had the spare time, bringing new books as she did so. Hoshi found reading to be a wonderful distraction to anything that suddenly brought the flood of memories back.

 

However Toujou, herself, never seemed to trigger any of these memories.

 

Though upon finishing her evening duties and retiring back to Hoshi’s room to check on him- still rather worried about his mental state, she was exhausted. Hoshi didn’t hesitate to point this out to her, but she dismissed him, instead settling down next to him with some tea.

 

She didn’t remember falling asleep, but she did remember waking up.

 

She couldn’t deny she hadn’t slept well- she’d barely slept at all since the incident, and was terrified to awake, covered in a cold sweat with hot tears streaming down her face. She sniffled, letting a rather pained whine escape her throat- where was she again? She could feel somebody holding her.

 

It took her a few moments to realise she was lying on Hoshi’s bed in the dark, feeling as he gently stroked her hair. She allowed him to wipe her tears away with his thumb, assuring her it’ll be okay. Why was he assuring her? It should’ve been the other way around.

 

As for keeping her composure- it was far too late for that. She’d never wish for any of her students to witness her moments of weakness, as a maid, she must stand strong for the others…

 

...that is, if she really was a maid. 

 

Trying to force it back was pointless- she curled up and Hoshi allowed her to cry quietly into his chest, lacing his fingers into her silver hair.

 

She must’ve fallen asleep again- they both had, because when Toujou woke up, the morning announcement was just sounding, and she was still curled up against Hoshi, who looked a little pained in all honesty.

 

She gently shook him awake- she was incredibly late to rise and the others would be filing downstairs already, this was unbecoming of her. As she rose to leave, Hoshi gently pulled her back by the hem of her skirt.

 

“Take the day off. You haven’t slept for days- they can make their own breakfast for once.”

 

Toujou opened her mouth to protest but the gleam in Hoshi’s eye told her he wasn’t having it. She reluctantly settled down onto the bed as Hoshi pushed a book into her hands. “I’ll go grab some tea or something.”

 

Toujou felt incredibly useless at that moment in time. What kind of maid was she if she wasn’t fulfilling her daily duties- but the pounding headache that was beginning to form told her she would only take stupendous amounts of time to complete small chores if she worked.

 

Though she disliked resting, she deduced it would be best to get herself back to optimal health so she could return to her duties quickly.

 

Hoshi returned promptly with a tray of tea and some snacks, along with something else he’d picked up from the AV room- a set of headphones attached to a small device Toujou assumed to be an MP3 player of some sort.

 

He set the tray down on the edge of the bed and climbed over, handing Toujou the MP3 player. “I don’t...really know what kind of music you like, so I just stuck a bunch of songs on there.” He explained. Toujou accepted the device graciously, experimentally putting an earbud in her left ear and switching the player on.

 

The two ate and drank in relative silence, Toujou flicked through each song as she ate, before offering an earbud to Hoshi. He shuffled forward to take it and the two listened to the music in silence.

 

“I didn’t know you have an ear piercing.”

 

Her comment brought him brief surprise, as his fingers reached up to gently tug at the piercing at the top of his ear, usually hidden by his hat. “Oh, yeah...I don’t really...remember getting this done, actually.”

 

“Was it with the tattoo?”

 

“It might’ve been? I think that might just be the memory problem acting up again.”

 

“I think it suits you.”

 

His lips curled into a smirk. “I get that a lot. What about you?”

 

“I’m afraid not…” Toujou carefully brought her teacup up to her lips. “I’ve never bothered with any types of body modification. The closest thing I get to changing my look is a haircut.”

 

“Have you ever thought about getting your ears pierced? I think it’d look pretty nice.” He sat back against the headboard, careful not to pull the earbud out. Toujou hummed. “I suppose I thought about it as a child- lots of girls had their ears pierced but as I grew up I stopped thinking about it, though I suppose having a pair of earrings would look quite nice.”

 

Hoshi inspected her face for a moment. “Spider webs. Or spiders. You can get earrings like those and it would probably go with your dress.”

 

“I didn’t pin you as the fashion-savvy type.” She smiled.

 

“I’m really not- I just kinda know what looks cool, I guess. Plus you got a spider-web on your dress, so...it makes sense.”

 

“I think that’s quite a nice thought, though it’d be impossible for me to get them done now.” She set her empty teacup back onto the tray, before moving to untie her shoes, which she’d forgotten she’d been wearing.

 

“Mm...I have a few spare earrings y’know, if I could find some alcohol and a needle I could do it for you.” He mused. “Well...only if you’re up to it.”

 

Toujou gingerly removed her headband from her slightly tangled hair. “I think I’ll sleep on it for now. Perhaps...I should relocate back to my own room.” She moved to sit up, only to be coaxed back down.

 

“Don’t sweat it- just stay here. You’ve practically been living here for the past few days anyway.” He gave her a thumbs up, “Just take a nap, alright? What was it you needed doing today anyway?”

 

“Nothing you need to bother yourself with…” Toujou smiled, weakly.

 

“C’mon, I’ve been hangin’ around doing jack for the past few days- I need to get myself up and doing something and you need to get some sleep- so what needs to be done?”

 

Toujou thought to herself for a moment, pondering all the chores she’d mentally set herself to do for today. “Mm...I planned to finish off the last batch of laundry today and get around to mopping the corridors, if that’s not too much for you.”

 

“Laundry might be a challenge, but I can mop a floor easy. Get some rest, okay? I’ll probably stop by with more tea later.” Hoshi pulled his hat onto his head and gave Toujou a charismatic thumbs up before leaving Toujou alone in the room.

 

Placing the other earbud into her ear, Toujou laid back and allowed to the music to envelop her. This had to be the first time she’d taken the time to actually listen to music and relax, being so wrapped up in her duties as a maid. Though she generally disliked being inactive, she appreciated the peacefulness.

 

Though the time alone also gave her time to mull over the events of the past few days, beginning with her murder attempt. Even though Hoshi had fully agreed to let her go through with it, she still couldn’t bring herself to do it and the fact he’d forgotten that he’d even agreed to begin with after recovering was rather upsetting.

 

Though the fact he mentioned it had stopped the suicidal feelings, if only temporarily, was something to feel happy about. Toujou knew vaguely of Hoshi’s backstory and understood the feelings that came alongside previous trauma, but the fact that those memories may be false also brought her joy. Hoshi was, without a doubt, a good guy and she respected him greatly, murder or no murder.

 

And alongside that, she had experienced quite a large amount of intimacy with him over the past few days, comforting him during episodes of extreme panic, discussing parts of each other’s lives and even so far as to see the surprise tattoo beneath his underwear.

 

Being a maid, that kind of intimacy wasn’t common and it was only until she really thought about it, did she realise it was quite a lot they’d experienced together in such a short span of time but despite seeing him at his most vulnerable, holding him close to comfort him and even letting him stroke her hair, she felt no romantic interest towards him.

 

That wasn’t to say she wasn’t interested in him- she found him rather remarkable in his own way and secretly was beginning to enjoy the time they spent together, even though she still felt regret and guilt at every turn. 

 

The thought of having a close friend was...pleasant. For the first time in the past few days, Toujou felt somewhat content. She smiled, closing her eyes and letting the sounds of music drift her to sleep.

 

Unfortunately, due to the music, she was unable to hear the announcement that rang out seconds later.

 

_ [A BODY HAS BEEN DISCOVERED~!!] _

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> welp


	6. Investigation Start

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i dicked up because i know little about chapter 2 seriously who's idea was this to write this fucking fic

 

Toujou was shaken awake by a panic-stricken Gokuhara, who was trembling in his--...well, bare feet. Toujou rose blearily, momentarily confused by Gokuhara’s visible panic. She removed the earbuds, that were now silent due to lack of battery.

 

“Did you not hear the body discovery announcement?!”

 

That and the lack of Hoshi’s appearance was enough to send Toujou in silent fear. She stumbled to her feet, disregarding the lack of shoes, and hurriedly followed Gokuhara to the scene of the murder.

 

She only half-noted that her feet were now damp- that must’ve been from where Hoshi had been mopping up. Careful not to slip, Toujou followed Gokuhara into the swimming pool where…

 

...the corpse of Iruma Miu floated in the pool.

 

 

Though she was slightly perturbed by the death of Iruma, she was relieved to see Hoshi lingering by the poolside as Momota and Saihara worked to retrieve Iruma’s body from the water. Now slightly damp, they carefully laid her body down onto the poolside.

 

“Upupupu~ There’d better be no running around here- this is a pool y’know! It’s dangerous- somebody could slip over and di-- whoops~!”

 

The appearance of the monochrome bear brought anger to the features of the others, but, as expected, Monokuma produced the second Monokuma File. With a quip Toujou was too busy to listen to, he disappeared, allowing time for the investigation.

 

INVESTIGATION START

 

“Poor Iruma...nobody deserves to die like this.” Kiibo lamented, as Shinguji flicked through the file. “It says that Iruma’s death was caused by drowning after non-fatal trauma to the head.” Chabashira glowered in the corner, standing by Iruma’s wet corpse like an angry bulldog. 

 

[EVIDENCE - MONOKUMA FILE 2]

 

“From what I can see- nothing else seems to be out of place here...it’s really odd.” Saihara murmured to himself, causing Momota to announce, “We can’t risk messing up here- search wherever you can! If anything is even remotely suspicious, jot it down.”

 

Toujou laid a hand on Hoshi’s shoulder- he looked sickeningly pale, as if he was ready to vomit there and then. “Why don’t we go and investigate elsewhere. I think investigating all the surrounding rooms may be the place to start.” Hoshi nodded silently in agreement and followed the bare-footed maid out of the swimming pool.

 

It was only now did she remember her feet were wet and somehow wetter than before- she looked down to find she was standing in a puddle. She shot a glance at Hoshi who looked rather defensive.

 

“Hey, that wasn’t me- I know how to mop a floor. The killer must’ve sprayed a load of water up the corridor after I’d cleaned it.”

 

Toujou felt inclined to believe him.

 

“I am going to go and investigate Iruma’s study lab for clues.” Kiibo announced with determination, striding past them and almost slipping on the floor himself.

 

Apparently, the other seemed to have similar ideas- Toujou watched as Shinguji and Shirogane moved to investigate Hoshi’s research lab, much to Hoshi’s displeasure. She couldn’t say she felt too thrilled about having her own research lab investigated by Harukawa, but she had nothing to hide and remained calm.

 

That left them to investigate Yumeno’s research lab- where they found Yumeno and Yonaga. Yumeno appeared to be in tears.

 

“Yumeno, what’s wrong?”

 

Yumeno wiped a line of snot away with the back of her hand, glaring up from under her hat.

 

“Somebody’s broken my staff! Look!” She brandished a staff that appeared to branch up into a different shape, but the head of the staff had very clearly been snapped off. Yonaga patted Yumeno’s head, vowing to fix it up, make it look ten times better and imbue it with the power of God.

 

[EVIDENCE - BROKEN STAFF]

 

Hoshi was almost immediately drawn to the tank in the corner of the room, filled with a slightly murky water. It was...incredibly unsettling to say the least. The fact the entire murder revolved around water was horribly off-putting, especially since Iruma had died in the way he was meant to.

 

He forced his eyes away from it, leaving Toujou to inspect the tank.

 

[EVIDENCE - TANK]

 

Any body of water large enough drown somebody in was considered suspicious in a case like this, so Toujou took note of it and judging by the way somebody had harshly snapped Yumeno’s staff, it was very likely somebody had come in here.

 

She inspected the tank thoroughly, which seemed rather pointless given that it was a tank full of water, but her keen eye spotted something at the very bottom. Small- too solid to be dirt. She hiked a sleeve up to dip her hand into the off-colour water and scrape up what lay on the tanks bottom.

 

They looked and felt like flakes of something, but as for what, she was unsure.

 

“Oh, those…” Yumeno muttered, “They’re fish flakes from the piranhas I used in my show. I actually meant to clean that tank today- that’s why I stopped by earlier, but I saw my staff had been snapped so…”

 

Toujou could imagine how different her own priorities were from Yumeno’s.

 

“I saw you, actually.” Hoshi piped up. “I remember seeing you leavin’ your room earlier- you went off the other way.” Yumeno nodded sagely. “I actually had to clean up as well as find who broke my staff…”

 

“That’s true, that’s true! Angie, Himiko and Tenko were all painting this morning before we found Iruma’s body! And even then, we were the ones who discovered it!”

 

So Yonaga, Yumeno and Chabashira were the ones to discover the body? Well, that did make three people. 

 

[EVIDENCE - FISH FLAKES]

 

[EVIDENCE - HOSHI’S ACCOUNT]

 

Yumeno was clearly still sore about her snapped staff and Toujou offered to clean the tank for her later this evening as her and Hoshi left the magician’s research lab and traversed back in the direction of the swimming pool.

 

“This case must be rather stressful for you…” Toujou commented, quietly. Hoshi shrugged, with not much to say. “Can’t say it’s any fun, but it has to be done. Uh...do you maybe want to head back and grab some shoes?” He gestured down to her feet and for the third time that day, Toujou felt herself standing in a puddle of water.

 

“You said you mopped the floor- so these puddles must’ve been made after you came by. What time do you think that might’ve been?” She caught a glimpse of her slightly bedraggled reflection in the water as Hoshi mulled over her question.

 

“A little before 9:00 AM. I remember mopping the floor and I know I didn’t make puddles like these. Though in a case about water, it is pretty suspicious.”

 

“Indeed.”

 

[EVIDENCE - PUDDLES OF WATER]

 

“My, my, where did your shoes go?”

 

Toujou and Hoshi looked over to see Shinguji and Shirogane, back from their investigation of Hoshi’s lab and a few others. Shinguji’s remark was dry and filled with amusement, but the pair were too busy to see what lay in his hands.

 

The colour and style matched...Yumeno’s staff? The most disturbing part about it was the fact the slightly wet item had faint remains of blood splatters on it.

 

“I found this odd object during our investigation- I read in the Monokuma file Iruma suffered head trauma before her death. I believe I may have found the weapon responsible, though it seems rather...strange.”

 

“That looks like...Yumeno’s staff?”

 

“You know what it is?” Shirogane looked mildly surprised, but Shinguji’s amber eyes narrowed as he looked down at Hoshi.

 

“Yumeno was complainin’ someone got into her research lab and broke her staff- that looks like the bit that went missing.” He explained, aided by a nod of agreement from Toujou. Shinguji hummed, thoughtfully, before stalking away.

 

“That makes this far more interesting.”

 

[EVIDENCE - BROKEN STAFF HEAD]

 

Shirogane followed suit, leaving Hoshi and Toujou stood alone in the hallway. “That...explains where the other part of her staff got to…” Hoshi pulled the brim of his hat down over his eyes with a sigh.

 

“No, it doesn’t.”

 

“Huh?”

 

Toujou looked comically serious, standing in a puddle bare-footed, but her expression was concerning. “He found it, but he never explained just where he found it. If you noticed, it was wet…”

 

“It was. What’s your point?”

 

“Hoshi, he and Shirogane were investigating your lab.”

 

He looked momentarily alarmed. If Toujou was able to drown him in his research room, it was also possible for anybody else to do so as well, but the sharp look in Toujou’s eyes prompted Hoshi to explain.

 

“Listen, I didn’t kill Iruma- You think I could drown her up there? It’s pretty much impossible. I...haven’t been up there since…” He trailed, wearing a rather dark expression, but Toujou nodded plainly. “Of course, I believe you’re innocent. And I can assure you, I was asleep for the entire time the murder was carried out.”

 

“Yeah I know that…”

 

“Gonta, too, can testify to that!”

 

Gokuhara’s booming voice could be heard behind them, as he stood rather triumphantly. “Gonta came to get Toujou and Toujou was fast asleep when Gonta found her!”

 

“Well, it’s a start.”

 

[GOKUHARA’S ACCOUNT]

 

 

“Is there anywhere else we can go? The others seemed very eager to cover as much ground as possible- I feel they may have cleared up what we haven’t already…” Toujou murmured. 

 

“Not to mention it feels kinda...lackin’. Like there should be more to go on.” 

 

“Well we do have Saihara here to help us! Gonta is sure we’ll find the culprit!” Gokuhara announced with pride, as Monokuma’s announcement rang through the building, instructing the students to head to the trial room.

 

As Gokuhara stomped on ahead, Toujou eyed Hoshi with concern.

 

“Even if there is evidence against you...I do believe you didn’t commit the murder.”

 

“I can assure you, I didn’t…”

 

Toujou smiled. 

 

Hoshi smiled back.


	7. Trial 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is like very inaccurate to try not to pay too much attention to details

The way to the trial room was silent and gloomy, as ever it was, and as they all took their places at their respective podiums, Toujou still felt rather fearful.

 

“Upupupu~ You all know how this works by now, no?” Monokuma sat on his strange little throne with the remaining Monokumarz next to him.

 

“Hrrf….at least there was less blood this time around…” Monofunny held her paws over her bulging mouth looking surprisingly pale for a toy bear however Momota was quick to cut through the beginnings of a family spat between the bears.

 

“Iruma’s the victim- we gotta find the culprit, right? So, where do we start, Saihara?”

 

All eyes fell to Saihara.

 

“Mm..” He hummed, “I know we might have some pretty incriminating evidence, but I think we should start discussing alibis.”

 

“Nishishi~ Saihara’s really taking control of this one, huh?” Ouma grinned, wolfishly, and Saihara curled in on himself slightly. “That’s not...I’m just trying to make sure we all get out of this alive…”

 

“That being said, Ouma’s immediately always suspicious!” Momota announced, causing Ouma to shrug away with mock tears in his eyes. “Hey!! I’ll have you know, I was planning something else entirely!! But I guess somebody beat me to it. Well, no matter~” The tears disappeared as quickly as they had came as he shrugged.

 

“Are you saying you had nothing to do with this at all?” Harukawa glared at Ouma, who nodded quite earnestly. “I wish I had- I had something really exciting planned too, but I guess that can wait for another time. Besides, if it’s alibi’s we’re starting with, I was in the kitchen the entire morning- and I have several people to back me up on that!”

 

You could definitely see disappointment on the features of several people, Hoshi included, as Kiibo stepped in. “He’s...right- from about 08:30 to 08:40, Ouma, Gokuhara, Shinguji, Shirogane and I were...attempting to make breakfast, since Toujou was unavailable. We were all in the kitchen together from then until the body discovery announcement!”

 

That was a perfectly plausible explanation, but that almost immediately pinned suspicion on Toujou.

 

“So where was Toujou during all of this? It’s very unlike you to be absent during the morning.” Shinguji commented, with interest. Toujou let out a silent sigh. 

 

“I’m afraid I...wasn’t very well this morning. I spent the morning in Hoshi’s room as he let me rest there for the night. I was woken up by Gokuhara after the body discovery announcement had sounded.”

 

“Gonta can attest to that! Gonta went to find Toujou and Hoshi told Gonta that she’d be in his room- she was already sleeping when I found her.” Gokuhara announced.

 

“Does that mean...you didn’t hear the body discovery announcement…?” Shirogane mused aloud.

 

“I lent her some headphones.” Hoshi replied, thickly.

 

“Toujou was wearing the earphones when Gonta found her, too!”

 

“Hah…? Wait, did you say you were sleeping in Hoshi’s room? What gives?” Yumeno raised an eyebrow and a few accusatory looks were shot between them. Hoshi tugged his hat down in irritation. 

 

“Toujou wasn’t well so I was keeping an eye on her- nothing more, nothing less.” 

 

“Aah~ How disappointing~~!” Yonaga sighed.

 

“Nishishi~ That’s still pretty suspicious. Besides, what about the rest of you?” Ouma directed his attention to the others without alibis.

 

“Saihara, Harumaki and I were outside training!” Momota jumped to defend the two. Saihara nodded quietly while Harukawa chewed her lip with a glower, but said nothing.

 

“Angie, Tenko and Himiko were painting this morning!! We got up super early to start painting, too!” Yonaga waved.

 

“And we went to go swimming after that, until we found the body…!” Chabashira added.

 

“I was...mopping the corridors.” Hoshi looked rather dark about his own pathetic alibi, especially when Ouma laughed. “This seems like a pretty open and shut case, doesn’t it?”

 

“But I believe Hoshi had seen Yumeno exit her study lab, so does that mean the three of you were split up during that time?” Toujou questioned Yonaga.

 

“Himiko left to clean up, didn’t she?”

 

“Yeah- well...I left to go clean the tank out. I mean, I was wearing a smock at the time so I thought, since it’s covered in paint, it’s not gonna matter if I get it wet or dirty, but then I saw somebody had broken my staff, so I left to go find where the rest of it was.” Yumeno defended.

 

“I saw her leave a little before 9AM…”

 

“Well, according to the Monokuma File, Iruma died at precisely 09:02 from drowning, so...Yumeno left her study lab before Iruma died?”

 

“Does that mean it’s possible Yumeno did it?”

 

“If Iruma was drowned in the pool, then it’s possible…” Saihara concluded, much to Yumeno’s dismay.

 

“Oh, speaking of the rest of your staff, I found it.” Shinguji produced the head of Yumeno’s broken staff, still slightly damp and blood covered and Hoshi felt his heart sink to his knees.

 

“You found it? Ugh, it’s got blood on it…” Yumeno moaned

 

“Since the Monokuma File tells that Iruma suffered head trauma, and this was the only weapon found with blood on it, it may be safe to say this was what caused the trauma.” Shinguji explained, setting the staff head down with a clunk.

 

“Where did you find it?”

 

“Well, that’s the most interesting part. I found it in one of the sinks in Hoshi’s study lab.”

 

He should’ve expected this.

 

“Nishishi~ Isn’t that interesting?” Ouma grinned.

 

“Hoshi, did you kill Iruma?”

 

“No, I didn’t.” Hoshi snapped. 

 

“Well…” Saihara began, “I don’t really want to change the subject, but for the case, I think we need to discuss just where Iruma died.”

 

“That’s easy- it was the swimming pool, right?”

 

“That’s what I thought, but Hoshi, you said you were mopping the corridors right? When did you roughly start?”

 

Hoshi pondered the question for a moment, “About 08:40- that’s when I left Toujou in my room. Is this about the puddles in the corridor? Because I can say for sure I didn’t leave them.”

 

“That’s what I thought- with puddles like those, it’s possible that Iruma was moved.”

 

“Moved? She was moved to the swimming pool?”

 

“That...could be possible- I mean the staff head was found in Hoshi’s study lab, right? Who’s to say she wasn’t drowned there either?”

 

“Does this mean Hoshi is the culprit?”

 

“I’m not the culprit…”

 

“Though if we’re discussing where Iruma could’ve been killed, I believe the tank in Yumeno’s study lab would also be sufficient.” Toujou added, causing Yumeno to look momentarily shocked.

 

“Himiko would never do something like that!” Chabashira defended.

 

“I’m not saying she did it- I’m saying it’s possible. Especially if somebody had broken her staff- I think it’s possible the entire murder happened in Yumeno’s study lab.”

 

“But then why would the killer move the body? Why not leave it in there and pin the blame on Yumeno?”

 

“That’s true…”

 

“Ah, but remember what Hoshi said- he said he saw Yumeno leave her study lab before the murder was committed. Doesn’t that mean she wasn’t there during the murder?”

 

“Hoshi, did you see anybody else go into Yumeno’s study lab?”

 

“Nah, after Yumeno left, I’d already finished mopping that part of the corridor, so I left to do another bit.”

 

“Wow, but who’s to say Hoshi wasn’t cleaning up his tracks!! Besides, he was lingering outside Yumeno’s room anyway, right? It’s totally possible for Hoshi to drown Iruma in the tank!”

 

“Is it…?”

 

“And that explains why the staff head would be in his study lab.”

 

Toujou glanced over at Hoshi, whose expression was grim.

 

“But we can’t say for sure Iruma was drowned in the tank- Iruma could’ve been drowned in Hoshi’s study lab too, right?”

 

“So which is it?”

 

“I’m not taking sides here,” Momota hummed, “...but Hoshi didn’t have much of a motive to kill Iruma, right? I mean...your Monopad…”

 

“It’s a void motive. I have no reason to kill Iruma- I have no reason to kill anybody.”

 

“Neither do I…” Yumeno mumured, “Killing somebody is way too much effort…”

 

“Motives aside, I do still believe it’s very likely Iruma was drowned in Hoshi’s study lab…” Shinguji began, with an odd glint in his eye.

 

“Look, I haven’t been in there since I discovered the place. I’ve had no need to.” Hoshi responded, stiffly. 

 

“Mm, that’s all well and good but I have evidence that somebody has been in there- and it does point to you.”

 

“H-Huh?”

 

The group watched as Shinguji produced a piece of evidence he’d failed to mention to any of the others. “I thought it wasn’t worth mentioning at the time, but I found one of your hats in the sink- a full sink, might I add. Was there a reason for that?”

 

“I-I…”

 

He felt sick. He was going to pass out. 

 

“Not only that, and I have Shirogane to provide a backup, but above that same sink, are quite the series of scratches. Signs of a struggle, maybe?”

 

He could feel his throat close up painfully as all eyes were on him. His expression probably didn’t help his case but he couldn’t quite think straight. Toujou opened her mouth, feeling sweat bead on her forehead.

 

“I know it may seem improbable, but it’s certainly possible for you to drown her in that sink.”

 

He pulled his hat down over his eyes. He couldn’t deal with this- he had to get out--

 

“You’re wrong.”

 

Toujou…?

 

She was breathless, sick to her stomach- “I know why those were there.”

 

“Hm? Toujou knows something?”

 

She swallowed thickly.

 

 

“The reason for the hat, the full sink and those scratches are...several days ago, I...attempted to murder Hoshi. By drowning him in the sink but I stopped at the very last second…”

 

The room was stone silent. Even Monokuma was silent.

 

“You...what?”

 

Hoshi’s knees buckled as he toppled from the crate he was stood on, pulling his hat down as far as it could stretch. He was going to be sick.

 

“Hoshi hasn’t stepped foot in his research lab since then because of what happened- the entire case being water-revolving is stressful for him and after something like that, I can say it’s impossible for him to drown somebody like that after what I did. Hoshi is innocent. The evidence in his study lab are all my doing.”

 

“Nishishi...an attempted killer, huh? Wow, Toujou, I didn’t think you had it in you!”

 

“T-Toujou, you really--?”

 

“Does this mean you killed Iruma? Did you put the staff head in the sink as well?”

 

Toujou let out a shaky breath, avoiding the looks of horror from her classmates. “No, the...staff head was not my doing. The other parts were. I’m just...saying, if you’re blaming Hoshi, then you’re blaming the wrong person.”

 

“I guess...that explains why he’s been absent for the past few days.”

 

“But this pins the blame on you…Are you sure you didn’t kill Iruma?”

 

“Toujou was the only one without a stone solid alibi either- she could’ve easily slipped out and drowned Iruma. Her feet are even wet-- wait, what happened to your shoes?”

 

“When Gokuhara informed me of the murder, I ran out and didn’t bother to put my shoes on. I stepped in the puddles in the corridors several times.”

 

“That being said, it’s...the fact you tried to kill somebody before- how can we trust you?”

 

Toujou smiled. “You can’t, I understand, but I can promise you I did not kill Iruma.”

 

“So does this mean it’s Yumeno?”

 

“It’s not me!” Himiko defended. “Remember, I left my study lab before the murder happened!”

 

“But who’s to say you didn’t come back? Hoshi wouldn’t have been around to see it…”

 

“But Hoshi also wasn’t around to see Toujou either…”

 

“Yonaga, when did Yumeno meet up with you and Chabashira…?”

 

“Huh? Ohh...that must’ve been before we discovered the body so...09:20? Or something like that!!”

 

“And if Iruma was killed at around 09:00...that gives Yumeno a twenty minute window to do anything- including moving a body!”

 

“I-I’m telling you, I didn’t do it!” Yumeno muttered, weakly.

 

“Why would Yumeno break her own staff? It seems more logical Toujou would...”

 

“Who’s to say it was on purpose…?”

 

“Does Yumeno even have a motive…?

 

“Himiko would never do something like that!”

 

“But why would Yumeno leave her study lab before the murder? She left minutes before it, right? What would she even be doing during that time?”

 

“I think…” Toujou murmured, “That might be to do with the staff head. It’s possible Yumeno had merely knocked Iruma unconscious during that time- that would’ve given her ample time to dispose of the staff head in Hoshi’s study lab.”

 

“That’s impossible! Hoshi would’ve seen if I was carrying it!”

 

“That’s true...but you were wearing a smock, right? After painting? It’s easy to hide something under there.”

 

“Hoshi, was Yumeno hiding something under her smock?”

 

Hoshi was...still sat on the floor. The rest of the group shared odd looks.  Toujou looked over at him sympathetically. “I think it’s best to leave him be right now. He’s in no shape to participate in the trial any further…”

 

“Poor Hoshi...this makes Toujou even more suspicious!”

 

“I had no reason. If I had a reason to carry out a murder, I would’ve killed Hoshi to begin with.”

 

“Nishishi, maybe you fell in love with him?”

 

“Oh, my…”

 

“That’s incorrect.”

 

“Though with Yumeno leaving the scene, there’s no proof that she went anywhere near that tank! Didn’t she say she was going to- but after seeing somebody broke her staff, she left to find it?”

 

“That’s under the pretense that she didn’t break it hitting Iruma over the head with it.”

 

“I didn’t!”

 

“Besides...Toujou’s clothes do look a little damp…”

 

“I dislike to admit it, but this is sweat.”

 

“Ewww~”

 

"But there is no evidence Yumeno went anywhere near her tank, right?"

 

Toujou was now sure it was Yumeno who had committed the murder, but the suspicion on her was so great, especially with her previous attempted murder…

 

She needed solid proof. What proof was there? Nothing at all seemed out of the ordinary…

 

...hold that thought…

 

She removed one of her gloves to inspect the hand she’d dipped into the tank. The inside of her glove was damp from where she’d had nothing to wipe her hands on and stuck to her hand was--

 

“Yumeno- I...While I was investigating the tank- I discovered some strange flakes at the very bottom of the tank.”

 

“I already said they were fish flakes…”

 

“Yumeno, I know for a fact fish flakes aren’t blue. Or multi-coloured for that matter.”

 

She hadn’t noticed it before, until she’d looked back at her hand. The tiny flakes, that no person would’ve ever noticed under normal circumstances, were stuck to her hands where she hadn’t dried them off. She’d dismissed them as fish flakes at the time, especially in the murky water but looking closer, they were small, crispy flakes of varying colour.

 

“H-Huh…?”

 

“In fact...these look like flakes of dried paint.”

 

Everybody looked positively mortified.

 

“I understand you were painting with Yonaga and Chabashira this morning- and you even went to your study lab wearing the smock. I understand it was after you performed the murder and moved the body to the pool, did you dispose of the smock, seeing as taking it off beforehand would only get you covered in water…”

 

“Did anybody find the smock?”

 

“There’s nothing to say we can’t find it now, is there?”

 

Monokuma chuckled ominously, as Yumeno shrank down fearfully. “I-I...no, I didn’t kill Iruma!”

 

“Yumeno…”

 

Toujou wiped the damp, paint flakes off on her skirt. "I can't imagine there was another time that paint would end up in the tank unless you'd been near or in the tank today, whilst wearing that smock."

 

"Himiko didn't do it! I know she didn't!" Chabashira was reared to defend Yumeno, until Monokuma's voice cut through the air.

 

“Upupupu~ It’s decision time!!”

 

“W-Wait!”

 

If she hadn’t thought about the flakes, it was very likely Toujou would’ve been falsely voted as the killer. Everybody warily looked at their options- Toujou pressed her own option before speedily assisting Hoshi up, who looked rather dazed but seemed to have recovered from earlier.

 

“It was Yumeno, wasn’t it?” He murmured.

 

“I believe so.”

 

He pressed his option.

 

Monokuma erupted into sinister laughter, as Chabashira loudly defended Yumeno, going so far as to vote Toujou, but the majority won and--

 

“You were all right! It certainly wasn’t a unanimous vote, actually, it was very close, but the killer was Yumeno Himiko!”

 

Toujou could vaguely hear Chabashira’s shrieks and Yumeno’s cries as she explained what happened. Something about her mother and something backhanded and rather cruel that Iruma had said that had instigated the murder, but Toujou wasn’t listening all too closely.

 

She helped Hoshi to his feet, allowed him to clutch the hem of her skirt for support, as Yumeno was finally dragged to her execution.

 

Toujou...felt some amount of remorse for her sudden assault against Yumeno at the very end- she was sure Yumeno didn’t have a mean bone in her body and that at the time, Yumeno was most likely very scared, but she fully believed in the saying ‘the need of the many outweigh the needs of the few’ as selfish as that may have sounded…

 

She didn’t look Chabashira in the eye the whole walk back to their dorms, as she decided to accompany Hoshi back to his room. Of course, she, too, could not ignore the stares from the others after outing herself as an attempted killer. They could no longer trust her now, after that, and she understood that perfectly well. 

 

Of course, that wouldn’t stop her from doing her best to fulfill her duties to the others, but if the others were to reject her entirely…

 

...she knew she still had somebody she could protect.


	8. Remind me...

They’d decided to share Hoshi’s room again that night, though no words were spoken about it. It just felt like a right thing to do, especially if Toujou were to be potentially targeted by one of the others for her...previous attempt.

 

So once they returned, Toujou shed her damp stockings and set them on the rack in the bathroom to dry. Though it felt somewhat improper, Hoshi assured Toujou would be fine to sleep in her shirt- he too, shed his jacket and hat, feeling rather exhausted by the day’s events. He rolled out onto the bed and sighed.

 

“Well...that could’ve been worse.” 

 

Toujou wanted to chuckle, but couldn’t. “It could’ve been- though I feel...guilty. Guilty for Yumeno. It feels as if I’d killed her myself…”

 

“Nobody wanted to blame her, but anybody with half a brain in that room knew you were right. Yumeno was nice and all but we’re not Chabashira- we’re not about to give up our lives for her.”

 

Toujou set herself down next to Hoshi, allowed a comfortable distance between the both of them.

 

“Is there...anybody you’d give your life to protect?”

 

The question didn’t necessarily take Hoshi off guard, but he wasn’t expecting it to be worded that way. He remained quiet as he mulled over his answer.

 

“Yeah, I’d say so…”

 

“Your girlfriend?”

 

He looked rather pale for a moment. Almost rueful.

 

“Not...anymore.”

 

Toujou almost regretted asking the question- of course he would’ve given his life, but due to the mafia his girlfriend was--

 

\--no, that wasn’t quite right. They’d already proved that the events of Hoshi’s past were possibly fabricated, did that mean…?

 

“Is she real? Do you think?”

 

To her surprise, Hoshi shook his head- she was almost dismayed by his answer. “No, I don’t think she was real…” 

 

“Why do you think that?”

 

He let out a soft yet bitter laugh.

 

“I...can’t even remember her name.”

 

Toujou felt something inside her run cold. If that were true, and that was the memories acting up, then...he was right- there was a very strong possibility she wasn’t real. That must’ve been horrible to feel, and though Toujou understood, she couldn’t quite relate.

 

“I’m sorry…”

 

“Don’t be.” He said, gruffly, “Got plenty of other people I’d protect.”

 

“Oh?”

 

He gave a crooked smile. “Family...Saza...you…”

 

To say Toujou was taken aback by the last option would be an extreme understatement- in fact, she almost shot upright. Something in her chest tightened and she felt...weak?

 

“Why...I don’t understand why you’d give your life for somebody who’d tried to kill you.”

 

“It’s...not as black and white as that. You may have tried to kill me but technically, you also saved me and with the shitstorm that are my memories,” He tapped his head, “You might’ve found a way to save us all.”

 

“That doesn’t quite answer my question…”

 

“Toujou, do you know how they judge you for murder- for death row, that is?”

 

Toujou swallowed. “I’m...aware. Somewhat.”

 

“You don’t have the mindset of a killer, Toujou, you have the mindset of a selfless maid- somebody who devotes themselves to other people. The fact that you’d murder somebody to return to your country- hypothetically, of course- is...it proves that you’re not afraid. You’re not afraid to do something extreme.”

 

He continued, “Course, that isn’t always a good thing, but you’re a smart lady. You know what needs to be done. Maybe...you’re too selfless for your own good, but you aren’t a bad person. So don’t think you are.”

 

Toujou was silent. Perhaps even speechless, but she had no intention of speaking at the moment.

 

They both remained silent, basked in darkness.

 

“I feel...like I would do the same for you.”

 

“Is that because you feel like you owe me after…?” He trailed, leaving Toujou to fill in the blank by herself but Toujou chuckled. “Perhaps.”

 

The room once again fell into silence, until Toujou spoke once more.

 

“Hoshi?”

 

“What?”

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

He smiled.

 

“You can call me Ryoma.”

 

 

 

* * *

 

“You sure you want to do this?”

 

Toujou nodded, flattening out her new, clean dress as Hoshi shifted from his position on the bed next to her. In one hand, was a small bottle of alcohol and in the other, a needle from Toujou’s own sewing kit. It wasn’t the most ideal use for a needle, but Toujou didn’t mind.

 

Toujou took the offer of allowing Hoshi to pierce her ears for her. Sitting innocently on the table besides them, were two of Hoshi’s spare earrings. They glinted oddly in the light and it now dawned on Toujou what she was doing.

 

Not that she was afraid of pain- she could definitely do without it as it hindered her work, but there would always be a small feeling of discomfort before something that expected to bring pain.

 

Hoshi uncapped the bottle of alcohol and, pouring some onto a rag, he cleaned the needle thoroughly, before positioning it over Toujou’s left earlobe. Toujou took a breath to relax before--

 

“Ow.”

 

“Uh...sorry?” He offered, lamely, though Toujou knew full well what he was going to do so there was little point in apologising, not to mention her outburst sounded more sarcastic than anything else, as if she was incredibly unimpressed. He quickly snagged one of the earrings from the table, unscrewing it and deftly replacing the needle with it, before fastening it in Toujou’s newly pierced ear.

 

“Next one?” Hoshi cleaned the needle of blood and reapplied some alcohol to it.

 

She shifted around to her other side and, once again, allowed Hoshi to quickly pierce her earlobe and replace it with the earring.

 

Fully pierced.

 

The stinging in her ears was now merely a dull throb as Hoshi pushed the bottle of alcohol into her gloved hands. “Clean it twice a day and like...twist it around a bit. It’s a bit awkward ‘cause they aren’t studs but I think it’ll be fine.”

 

“Thank you very much.”

 

He washed the needle once more and set it down next to the now bloody rag, “Nah, it’s no problem. They actually suit you…” He inspected her, admiring his work, sitting back with a satisfied smile. “You can go check them out in the mirror.”

 

As he suggested, Toujou rose from the bed and walked over to the bathroom mirror, holding her hair back to see her new earrings clearly. He was right- they certainly did suit her and the addition of these earrings was rather surreal to her.

 

In her mind, they served as a reminder for the event from days ago.

 

Yumeno was the second to be executed- if she had gone through with her plan to kill Hoshi, it’s very likely she’d be in her place right now.

 

She looked over at Hoshi, who was still sat on the bed, fiddling with the chain around his ankle. That, too, served as a reminder, but perhaps for something that didn’t exist.

 

“Did you wear a chain on your ankle when you were imprisoned?”

 

He replied without looking up, “Nah, it was nothin’ like that. It’s just a room you live in. A little bigger than some cells, but I guess that’s because we lived there permanently. I woke up with the chain on- pretty annoyin’ but in comparison to this entire situation it’s nothing.”

 

Toujou took a seat next to him. “Well it’s good to know that you’re not sentenced to death.”

 

“Would you come to my execution if I was?” He gave a rueful, bitter smile, looking up at her with such a strange expression that just oozed exhaustion. Toujou sighed.

 

“I would if you wanted me there.”

 

“That takes guts. I’ve seen- well...guess not really, but I remember seein’ guys gettin’ hauled off to die and their families don’t even show. Guess seein’ a loved one be killed isn’t how you want to remember ‘em.”

 

“I can imagine why. Personally, I believe you are completely safe, should we eventually get out of here and if not...then I will visit you when possible.” She smiled. It wasn’t the most reassuring sounding sentence, but the way Hoshi’s eyes widened showed it meant something quite valuable to him.

 

“Toujou...are you sayin’ that to make me feel better, or are you sayin’ that because you want to?”

 

Toujou smiled, almost sheepishly. “I understand why you might think that, but I assure you I’d be coming of my own free will and not because I’d feel compelled to.”

 

He let out a low laugh. “Just makin’ sure. You’re too selfless for your own good sometimes.”

 

“Well if it helps, I try to avoid doing things that cause me extreme distress. Becoming agitated and too distressed just hinders my work- to be at optimal performance I have to remain physically and mentally healthy.”

 

“So you aren’t just blindly followin’ peoples orders. You’re pretty smart, y’know.”

 

“Contrary to popular belief, I do care for myself quite well.”

 

“That’s reassurin’ to know.”

 

The pair were now quite used to breaks of silence, finding them rather comfortable, even intimate, even without anything to do. When there was nothing that needed to be said, the silence spoke for them but eventually, the silence had to be broken.

 

“What are you gonna do about the others?”

 

Toujou knew this was unavoidable- she would eventually have to confront the others and perhaps even explain in greater detail the reasoning behind her attack, but perhaps with Hoshi beside her it would lessen the severity of their reactions. That being said, she didn’t feel any punishment should be reduced- what she did was wrong and she knew nothing could really make up for that but if Hoshi, the victim, understood, then perhaps the others would too.

 

He rested a hand onto her arm, squeezing gently.

 

“You’ll be fine.”

 

“Do you really believe so?” Toujou felt somewhat inclined to believe Hoshi was saying that merely for the sake of saying that- comforting words often had no substance to them but the hard look in his eyes suggested he was serious.

 

“I’ll make it fine.” Was his one reply.

 

Toujou managed a half-smile, slumping down slightly, rather unfitting for the maid but that being said, Hoshi had most likely seen all her ugly sides already. The sides she wouldn’t dare show to any others but it was likely he could say the same.

 

For the first time in a long time, she was tired.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bit of a filler tbh


	9. Forgive but Don't Forget

 

Toujou had not left Hoshi’s room at all that day, not to make breakfast or lunch for the other students. Her fingers were itching to do some work- some laundry, anything, but Hoshi had calmly asked her to remain with him. 

 

Of course, both of them were on edge- the prospect of going back out to the others after Toujou had outed herself as an attempted murderer was terrifying. Toujou was somebody they were supposed to depend on, as a maid, she essentially lived to serve those around her. What kind of maid would she be taking so much time away from work like this?

 

Though a knock on the door at around 5pm alerted them and Hoshi gingerly opened the door to reveal Saihara on the other side. His hat was firmly pulled over his head, as always, yet he looked distinctly shy.

 

“H-Hoshi...ah, is, uh, Toujou in there with you?”

 

His question was curious but the timid way he spoke showed that Saihara had no aggressive intentions. Hoshi paused, before pulling the door open wider to reveal Toujou sat on the bed, looking pale.

 

“Hi, Toujou…” Saihara greeted, quietly, “I just wanted to say, uh...the others opted to make dinner tonight because you were, uh...busy, but I came up to ask if you wanted to join us?”

 

Toujou looked momentarily surprised by Saihara’s civil offer. Though she, for one, did not want to throw his offer back in his face, she was still unsure of confronting the others at this point in time. Luckily, Saihara didn’t appear to be actively or visibly against her and was usually the best person for settling arguments.

 

“I...suppose I should.” She turned to Hoshi, who nodded quietly. The pair grabbed their shoes and other bits before leaving the room and following Saihara towards the cafeteria.

 

The atmosphere of the cafeteria was indescribable. Toujou felt all eyes on her as she entered behind Hoshi and Saihara. Plates were stacked on the table along with a few trays of food where people could pick out what they liked. The room was dead silent, painfully silent, until somebody chirped--

 

“Look~ The murderer is here~!”

 

Ouma, no doubt. 

 

Toujou could hear somebody hiss something at Ouma, possibly Saihara, but the others remained quiet as they took their places at the table. Hoshi nudged Toujou to follow him as they sat at the end furthest away from the others, in case a physical fight broke out.

 

They ate in relative silence, until Saihara finally broke through it.

 

“I guess there’s no point ignoring the elephant in the room…” He murmured, before glancing up at Toujou. “I’m not forcing you to tell us what happened but...we’ll listen to you.”

 

“Speak for yourself.” Harukawa muttered dryly, picking up her empty plate and taking it to the kitchen. A few others turned their heads in indication that they weren’t yet willing to listen to Toujou’s explanation.

 

Toujou pushed her empty plate forward and pondered her explanation.

 

“I suppose it was the motive Monokuma offered to us- our Monopads. I feel it’s only right to inform you but…” As she spoke of this, all she could think about was the fact her motive was probably void, but she couldn’t let them know of their discovery of Hoshi’s double memories just yet, so she continued, “...before I woke up here, I was offered the position of Prime Minister of a certain island around Japan. My Monopad contained the countless inhabitants I’m meant to be serving and protecting. I just couldn’t sit by knowing all those people were relying on me.”

 

A few of the group genuinely looked surprised by Toujou’s reasoning- as anybody would be. Chabashira, who had been glaring at Toujou the entirety of the meal, looked down at her feet, understanding fully the burden Toujou had been carrying, but her grief from Yumeno’s execution still clouded her judgement.

 

A few others narrowed their eyes, either suspicious of her reasoning or unwilling to trust her just yet, which was also understandable, but the fact her and Hoshi seemed so close all of a sudden brought a few to believe Toujou was genuinely trustworthy.

 

“Either way, whether you forgive me or not, I’ll still be willing to perform my duties to you and anything else you may require…” Toujou finished, quietly, awaiting response.

 

“I dunno about the others but I think it takes real courage to explain yourself like that,” Momota sat back in his chair with a thoughtful expression, “‘Course, attempted murder ain’t cool and I can’t guarantee anybody is gonna trust you for a while but-” he gave a thumbs up and a smile, “You did help us through the last trial!”

 

Toujou smiled graciously.

 

“I’m with Momota... If it wasn’t for you discovering the flakes of paint, we’d probably all be dead now. That being said…” Saihara’s gaze flickered to Hoshi, “Hoshi seems to trust you quite a bit...I think if he’s able to trust you after what happened then we don’t have much to worry about.”

 

“Pfff- woulda been much more interesting if you’d done it…” Ouma lamented with a huff, “But whatever. I’m not bothered.”

 

“Angie always says ‘forgive and forget’!”

 

“Tenko isn’t sure such a saying can be applied here…”

 

A few murmurs rose out. Those on the side of distrust were made up of Harukawa (assumedly), Chabashira, Shirogane and Shinguji- admittedly not as many people as Toujou had suspected. Ouma seemingly did not care about the situation, but Toujou knew full well he would use the situation to his advantage when he needed it. Saihara and Momota had decided Hoshi’s trust of her was well-placed despite the incident- Yonaga seemed to airily forgive her without much thought to it. Kiibo and Gokuhara appeared to be quite nervous about the situation, but both being kind-hearted, decided to side with the majority.

 

That left Toujou forgiven by most and Hoshi offered her a small smile.

 

“See? You’re fine…” He murmured and she laughed quietly. “I suppose I am, though I still have much to do to redeem myself.”

 

Hoshi rolled his eyes as the other students began to take their plates to the kitchen- he could tell Toujou was itching to get up and clean them. “Don’t worry ‘bout redeemin’ yourself. It’s not worth it.”

 

He allowed Toujou to take both of their plates and start washing up, but the smile he shot before getting down from the table told Toujou she was welcome to come to his room once she was done. Despite some strange looks, Toujou felt somewhat refreshed and finished her duties in record time.

 

Whether or not this was to join Hoshi back at his room was a mystery to her- in fact, she worried she may have completely misread that signal, but when she knocked on his door, he opened it with a lax smile.

 

“Didn’t give you any trouble did they?” He questioned, opening the door wider to allow Toujou to enter. Toujou shook her head, feeling her ears throb a tiny bit as she allowed herself to remove her shoes.

 

“Not at all. It was quiet, of course, but there was no trouble.”

 

“How’re your earrings?”

 

She reached up to her ears to gently pinch at her ears, feeling the pain spike slightly. “They appear to be fine. No blood and I’ve been cleaning them.” He gave her a thumbs up as he took a seat on the bed.

 

At that moment, Toujou turned to join him only to suddenly trip and fall painfully to her knees. Hoshi jumped up to help her back up with alarm on his face. “Woah, you okay?”

 

But instead of pain, the only expression on Toujou’s face was pure confusion. She looked too stunned to register pain as she sat up.

 

“Toujou…?”

 

She suddenly chuckled. “I apologise- that was rather strange of me. I can’t recall a time where I’ve ever tripped over my own feet.” She got to her feet and Hoshi guided her to the bed. “I’ll say...I’ve seen you balance more plates than I could count on my fingers and your step is perfect in heels. Maybe the floor was just slippery…”

 

But Toujou still looked rather taken aback. Eventually, she seemed to dismiss it.

 

“I trip- well, I remember tripping, dunno if it was real, on the court one time. Ended up headbutting the floor.” Hoshi rubbed a spot on his forehead with a sly smile. “In front of several hundred people.”

 

Toujou let her lips twist into a smile. “Well I’m lucky I didn’t have an audience like that- I’d rather people didn’t witness me tripping over my own feet. As if my reputation isn’t already tarnished…” She commented.

 

“I’m not all too happy about breakin’ down in the middle of the trial with the others watchin’ so...guess that makes two of us.” Hoshi grinned.

 

“How are you feeling, by the way?” Toujou questioned, remembering the past few days and how Hoshi had seemed to drastically improve. Hoshi shrugged in response. “I feel less sick than normal. Really not up for takin’ a shower any time soon, but what can I do?”

 

“The circumstances of the trial were really quite unfortunate in regards to your new-found hydrophobia…” Toujou murmured, sympathetically. “I don’t imagine anybody thought of your breakdown as embarrassing considering the fact you sat through it for as long as you did. I have a great respect for you, Hoshi…”

 

“Ryoma. Seriously, it’s fine. Everythin’ gets a bit too much from time to time- we’re only human after all.” He smiled, but it was weak. Clearly the prospect of reliving the trial wasn’t a welcome one.

 

“I suppose you’re correct- and I apologise. I am...rather unfamiliar with such intimate terms.” Toujou gave an almost sheepish smile.

 

“It’s just my name- nothin’ too intimate about it.” Hoshi replied coolly, but it was clear he wanted to say something else. As for what, Toujou didn’t know.

 

“Well then, perhaps...in return, you are welcome to address me as Kirumi if you so wish to.” Toujou offered, placing her hands neatly in her lap- a big contrast from the fall she took earlier. Hoshi gazed at her, wide-eyed for a moment, before letting his eyes close as his lips curled into a smirk.

 

“Then I’ll accept that offer, Kirumi.” He spoke, letting Toujou’s name roll off his tongue in a smooth manner. Toujou felt her lips twitch upwards involuntarily though after a moment, she found herself shooting a questioning look towards Hoshi as a weak snicker escaped his lips.

 

“If you went to America or Britain- people would probably think you’re suicidal…” He pointed out. “Your name sounds so much like ‘Kill Me’ in English it’s almost sad.”

 

To that, Toujou chuckled. “Despite the past events, I can assure you I am in no way suicidal- and I sincerely hope you aren’t either.” She said, calmly as she placed a hand on Hoshi’s shoulder as way of comfort.

 

“The near-death experience was almost enough to put me off entirely but...with the whole deal about my memories I haven’t really thought about it that much. Guess you could say you cured me.” Hoshi sounded like he was joking but his tired expression showed no humour.

 

“Those types of feelings are dangerous no matter what- I hope you’re able to confide in me if you do feel so. I’m not fond of the idea of having to save your life a second time.” Toujou murmured, rather darkly. Hoshi seemed to take humour in this.

 

“I couldn’t do that to ya...I’ll be fine, Kirumi...really.”

 

*Bing Bong Bing Bong~*

 

Toujou and Hoshi glumly listened to Monokuma’s overly chipper announcement, prompting Toujou to rise from the bed.

 

“I feel I should be resting in my own bed for once.” She explained, slipping her heels on, feeling an odd, unfamiliar wobble in her step as she did so.

 

“You sure you’re okay?” Hoshi raised a nonexistent eyebrow at her, raising his hands as if ready to catch her. Toujou flattened out her dress. “I’m fine, I assure you. Goodnight, Ryoma.” She waved, taking her leave and quietly shutting the door behind her, leaving Hoshi with nothing to do but get ready for bed.

 

He contemplated hearing his name coming from Toujou’s lips and smiled gently at the memory. False memories or not, it’d been quite some time since he’d heard it said so graciously. He slumped over in his bed and curled up, pulling the blankets up over himself, wondering if Toujou managed to return to her room without tripping over again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> toujou slipped over and faceplanted the floor on her way back to her room


	10. Spilling Memories

Hoshi woke again that night with a start, as he had done many times before. The urge to vomit was significantly less than before but he was soaking wet with sweat, drenching his clothes and bedsheets. He shivered and felt something run cold when he realised the spot next to him, and his entire room for that matter, was void of one person.

 

Normally he wasn’t one to bother people in the middle of the night but with thoughts plagued by water, knees shaking and a sudden panic to find somebody familiar to him, he stumbled out of the door and made his way to Toujou’s room.

 

The whole walk there felt like he was being followed- the sweat on the soles of his feet reminded him of puddles and made his stomach lurch uncomfortably. He shuddered, bracing his hands against the door and banging weakly against it.

 

Toujou, being a fairly light-sleeper, was at the door almost immediately to greet whoever was groaning at her door and her maid instincts kicked in the moment she saw Hoshi shivering beneath her.

 

She coaxed him inside, grabbing a towel from the bathroom rack and helping him wipe the thin layer of sweat from his face and arms. He was breathing heavily and rather erratically, but seemed at less of a panic when Toujou tended to him. How odd somebody would find solace in the person who was responsible for their problems in the first place.

 

It took about ten minutes for Hoshi to fully calm down and Toujou was happy to see that no vomit needed to be cleared up but anything that the small tennis player seemed to come in contact with got soaked with sweat. He apologised quietly, looking rather flushed and exhausted. Toujou allowed him to lay down on her bed and he very quickly drifted to sleep.

 

He was a far cry from the person she’d met at the beginning. Back then he seemed very distant- not cold, per se, but he certainly wasn’t willing to get too close. Now, in the middle of the night, he’d come to her in a fit of panic and had fallen comfortably asleep on her bed.

 

And murder seemed to bring them together.

 

It prompted Toujou to wonder- if his memories were fake and he wasn’t Killer Tennis, it was very likely his personality had changed around those memories. She wondered if the guy lying peacefully on her bed was the ‘real’ Hoshi.

 

…

 

He slept like a cat.

 

Toujou smiled silently, laughing to herself as she placed the sweat-drenched towel in the laundry hamper. The shirt she slept in was damp on one side so she opted to change it before settling down next to Hoshi, careful not to wake him. She wasn’t quite used to being physically so close with somebody but it felt...fairly normal now. It felt like a good part of life and Toujou found herself thoroughly enjoying Hoshi’s company.

 

Even if that could equate to him almost passing out at her door.

 

Toujou managed to settle herself down as Hoshi nestled himself at the end of her bed, holding a corner of the duvet over himself. As she drifted off, she wondered how nice it was to be depended on in such a close manner and how nice it was to feel so close to somebody.

 

Yet the feeling felt new and unfamiliar- she wondered how she’d never felt it before.

 

* * *

 

For the first time, Hoshi had woken up before Toujou. Granted, it was 6AM, the time Toujou generally rose to start on the morning’s chores, but she was still lightly snoring by the time he opened his eyes. He was momentarily confused, before the memories of that night came flooding back.

 

He felt a little silly at that moment- did he really have to wander over to bother Toujou in the middle of the night? Could he not handle himself for one, goddamn night? How embarrassing…

 

But at the same time, he was grateful Toujou had let him in and allowed him to fall asleep on her bed because Toujou could’ve easily refused him or taken him back to his room but she’d let him stay. He could tell that wasn’t just her sense of a maid’s duty talking- she...actually cared for him.

 

Toujou chose to rouse the moment that thought crossed his mind and he shrank back in alarm, fearing that Toujou could potentially mindread. A stupid thought but seemingly relevant nonetheless. Either way, Toujou awoke seemingly oblivious to Hoshi’s mental turmoil.

 

He greeted her with an odd smile.

 

“S...Sorry about last night. Shoulda stayed in my own room…” He apologised, gruffly, only for Toujou to sit up and dismiss him with a wave. “Not at all, I’d rather you sought my help instead of remaining alone. You’re welcome here anytime you like.” She smiled, shifting out from under the duvet and slinking off the bed in the direction of the wardrobe.

 

“I...should probably head back and get ready…” Hoshi commented, mainly to himself, as he hopped down from the bed and headed for the door. Toujou silently nodded, allowing him to leave but was sure he would join her downstairs shortly. She donned her usual maid garb, washed up and headed straight for the kitchen.

 

The light sounds of a clinking chain alerted her to Hoshi’s presence ten minutes later. He looked cleaner and a bit brighter than earlier. She set a mug of strong coffee down on the table as he sat down. He smiled up at her graciously and took a sip.

 

“Are you feeling better now?”

 

“Much. Thanks a lot, Kirumi.” Her name seemed to roll off his tongue so easily- as if he’d been calling her that for years.

 

She gave him a pleasant smile, coffee jug in hand but as she turned to head back to the counter--

 

_ *smash* _

 

She found herself on the floor, hot liquid burning through her stockings and gloves. The sharp screech of a chair sounded and Hoshi was right beside her, helping her up. She hurriedly removed her gloves, and lifted her slightly sopping wet and very warm skirt. Meanwhile, Hoshi got to picking up shards of coffee-stained glass from the floor.

 

“Did I...trip again?” She asked, quite vacantly. The look Hoshi offered her was incredibly concern as both of them knew something seemed very wrong. Toujou Kirumi did not just trip like that. 

 

So what was wrong with her?

 

She scrambled to help Hoshi pick up the shards of glass, now flushed and feeling rather embarrassed for herself. Even after the incident, Toujou did not make such foolish mistakes. And speaking of yet another foolish mistake--

 

“Ouch!”

 

She drew back, feeling warmth pool on her forefinger as she suddenly brought it to her mouth. A seemingly innocent piece of glass clinked against the floor.

 

“Did you just cut yourself? Lemme see…” He pulled at Toujou’s elbow to get a look at her wounded finger. A spot of blood oozed from the cut and he eyed the kitchen for the first aid kit.

 

“It’s...I can get it- it’s in the top cupboard.” She stumbled to her feet, now very wary of being careful as she retrieved the first aid kit and bandaged her finger, allowing Hoshi to clean the rest of the glass up. How humiliating- this was unbelievably unfitting for a maid.

 

“You bandaged it?” He asked, scraping a dustpan full of glass shards into the bin before returning it to its rightful place. Toujou nodded, deathly silent, as she placed the kit back into the cupboard. Hoshi sighed.

 

“C’mon, Kirumi, we all make mistakes like that. And after all the shit that’s happened I really can’t blame ya…” He said, sympathetically, reaching for his mug of coffee before offering it to Toujou, who took it carefully into her gloveless hands.

 

Yet Toujou looked stricken with something like dread. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from her bandaged finger. She’d never once messed up like this- not once during her life as a maid.

 

Well, that wasn’t true, there was that one time she smashed that pretty china plate--

 

She gasped, as if trying to inhale as much air as possible after being deprived of it for so long. She could’ve sworn she’d never made a mistake like that so why did she remember breaking that plate? She remembered the plate very clearly, too. White with pink painted roses around the edge and an arrangement of peonies in the middle.

 

She gripped the mug tightly, feeling her finger sting with the pressure. She’d broken that plate...hadn’t she? She certainly remembered being severely reprimanded for her actions.

 

_ “Keep making these mistakes and you’ll be out of here!” _

 

Those words hurt…

 

Huh…

 

_ Keep making these mistakes…? _

 

_... _

 

She dropped the mug.


	11. In Confidence

Toujou was absent for the morning when the others awoke. A few commented on the fact they would be more comfortable making their own food in case a poisoning happened, which Hoshi was willing to overlook as Toujou was clearly in a tizzy about earlier.

 

She’d opted to return to her room and clean up there instead, where nobody could see her make any other potentially foolish mistakes. Honestly, how stupid could she be to trip over her own feet and then cut her finger on glass less than a minute later? Clearly, her title of Ultimate Maid was undeserved.

 

Hoshi dropped by at around 9AM, after the others had finished eating breakfast, holding a small plate of rice balls and a tray with a pot of tea and a teacup, looking very sympathetic. He reached up to set the tray down on the table.

 

“The rice balls have cabbage in them if...you don’t mind.”

 

“Not at all…” Toujou’s voice was low and rueful. Not only did she smash a coffee pot and a mug, she was also selfishly abstaining from completing the morning’s chores. This was disgraceful behaviour for a maid. She hung her head in sorrow and shame.

 

“Hey, Kirumi...mind tellin’ me why you looked so grim earlier?”

 

He hopped up on the bed beside her, tugging off his hat as he now often did around her. Toujou attempted a ghost of a smile, but obliged.

 

“I was...reminded of a time in the past where I was scolded for breaking a china plate. A foolish mistake- I believe I was washing up at the time.”

 

Hoshi nodded in understanding. “That’s fair enough. Nobody likes messin’ up.”

 

“Mm, that’s...I believe so, but for a moment I felt so conflicted. I was sure I hadn’t made such mistakes in the past yet I remember that so vividly. Not only that, the words I remember being told after the accident- the master of the household had told me if I kept making mistakes like that he’d send me away…”

 

Hoshi looked rather concerned. “That’s pretty sore. I can see why you’re upset about it.”

 

Toujou shook her head. “It’s not just that, it’s...he said I ‘kept making mistakes’ which implies I’d made quite a few more beforehand but I...I simply don’t remember making so many mistakes.”

 

When met with silence, she glanced up to look at Hoshi only to be rather taken aback by his visibly shocked expression.

 

“You...hold up, you remember not makin’ mistakes- yet you remember makin’ that mistakes plus the guy told you you’d made more in the past...means…”

 

Her mouth dropped open.

 

“My...memories seem to be split.”

 

“You’re rememberin’ two versions of one event.” His eyes seemed to sparkle in a way Toujou had never seen before. He looked...genuinely excited. As pitiful as her mistakes were earlier and as ashamed as she felt for them, the prospect of potentially discovering something new almost overshadowed those completely.

 

“But...this means in both memories, I was a maid. And it’s strange to think only now I’m slipping up and making mistakes when I could’ve done so sooner.”

 

“Can memories really change the way people do things? Is that even possible?”

 

Toujou nodded thoughtfully, “I can see what you mean. If you took a person who failed academically and gave them the memories of a mathematical genius, would that then make them gifted?”

 

The two paused, pondering that thought. “Either way,” Hoshi began with a small smile, “We’re finally moving somewhere. Hopefully you’ll begin to remember a bit more. I wonder if that fall from last night triggered that memory?”

 

“I certainly don’t recall remembering it before then. It was...very sudden. I believe the smashing of the coffee pot reminded me.” Toujou now felt a little more revitalised, hoping that her memory would help in uncovering just what was going on behind the killing game. 

 

“That makes sense, but...what are we gonna do about Monokuma? I mean, what if we don’t remember in time? What if we don’t remember at all? Killings could still happen.” Hoshi mused and Toujou seemed to agree with the notion.

 

“It seems unlikely we could permanently stop these killings- my attempted murder does not help that and Ouma’s love of instigating conflict doesn’t either. Should we...inform the others of what happened?”

 

Hoshi shook his head. “Not yet. There’s still a chance one of us is the mastermind and if they catch wind that we’re figuring something out they could off us easily and I dunno about you but,” he smiled, “I don’t wanna see you end up dead.”

 

Toujou smiled in return. “Likewise. So...what do we do in the meantime?”

 

“While I don’t think tellin’ the group is a good idea, I do think tellin’ one person in particular is a very good idea.”

 

“Who did you have in mind?”

 

* * *

 

“Ah, Hoshi and Toujou…? Can I help you with something?” Saihara cocked his head, perplexed as to why he was being confronted by these two of all people. He offered a gentle smile to Toujou, who smiled pleasantly in response.

 

“You can, actually. We...need to talk to you about something.” Hoshi murmured, so as to not be overheard. Saihara looked momentarily alarmed. “Me? Why...why’s that?”

 

“We can’t talk about it here. We can go to your room or one of ours. You choose.” It seemed Hoshi was still a bit rough with socialising with the others, which Toujou found rather sweet in its own way. Saihara opted for his own room and the three made their way over.

 

The moment Saihara shut the door behind them, Toujou felt some anxiety swell in her stomach. The situation was uncertain but Hoshi was sure confiding in Saihara was the right thing to do.

 

“What did you need?” He asked, quietly, looking between the two.

 

“We…” Toujou began, “...believe we’ve experienced some things that could help us uncover the truth behind what’s going on.”

 

Saihara looked alarmed yet again, but this time his eyes flashed with interest. “You...really? What happened?”

 

“It happened after I...almost drowned.” Hoshi muttered, lowly. “The near-death experience musta brought back some kind of old memories. I ended up remembering two versions of one event and I had no idea which one was real.”

 

“Two...versions? Is this about how we can’t remember memories prior to arriving here?” Saihara questioned, thoughtfully.

 

“Something like that. It’s more...the memories we can remember. For instance, I have a tattoo of a shooting star on my shoulder…” Hoshi rubbed his shoulder in indication. “Yet after the incident I remembered two versions of the event. I remembered gettin’ it done in prison before I was put on death row- and at the same time, I remember gettin’ it done in a tattoo parlour on my eighteenth birthday.”

 

Saihara looked quite taken aback by the statement, wondering just how such a thing was possible. “Do you...know which one is the real one?”

 

“Yeah- luckily we had some...undeniably proof I’d gotten it done on my eighteenth.” Hoshi murmured, neglecting to mention Saza making her mark on him, which caused Toujou to smile humorously. “That...led us to believe I was never imprisoned in the first place.”

 

“That’s true, if you were in a tattoo parlour then- assuming you’d been arrested before your birthday, then it would make sense to assume you were never arrested in the first place.” Saihara mused. 

 

“Which means...my entire identity is Killer Tennis is...probably fake.” 

 

“Fake? You think they gave us fake memories perhaps?”

 

Toujou nodded. “I believe it is fairly plausible. Ryoma was able to recall another event that also led us to the same conclusion.” She explained. Saihara, having noticed Hoshi and Toujou spending a lot of time together, smiled involuntarily at the use of his name. It was nice to see Hoshi was spending time with somebody, in his eyes.

 

“What about you? Have you been the same…?”

 

Toujou paused. “Earlier...this morning I made a series of mistakes unfitting for the Ultimate Maid. Such actions led me to a memory of breaking a plate and being severely reprimanded yet for quite a while I was sure I’ve never made such mistakes in my life.”

 

Saihara looked rather puzzled by the mere notion of Toujou making mistakes like breaking plates. “That’s...very strange. So those memories are potentially proof that our memories were replaced with fake ones for...what purpose?”

 

“I believe it may be to do with the killing game. By giving Ryoma the backstory of a convicted killer, that is sure to brew conflict in a situation like this.”

 

Saihara held the brim of his hat in thought. “That is true...this, this could be a massive help to us!” He perked up. “But...I take it you chose me in particular to talk about it to…?”

 

“Correct. We didn’t think it wise to explain it to the group…” Toujou trailed, prompting Saihara to nod in understanding. Trust for Toujou had diminished severely after the incident which didn’t help their case in the slightest.

 

“Do you think this has anything to do with the Super High School Level Hunt…?” Saihara wondered, thinking back to what Amami had said before but Toujou shook her head. “Personally, I am beginning to believe that might be a completely false concept. After all, if they had implanted new memories into our heads we can’t trust any of our memories without proof. Ryoma has concrete proof that he was never arrested to begin with.”

 

“What proof is that? How solid can it be when the mastermind knows everything about us…” Saihara looked rather concerned but Hoshi flushed. “Uh...without too much detail a friend of mine gave me another tattoo while I was...passed out I suppose, but since I only found out about it a few days ago, I had no memories of it to alter and if I didn’t know about it then the mastermind probably doesn’t either.”

 

“Of course, tattoos like that are overwhelmingly proof. I guess you got really lucky to find that, huh…” Saihara smiled softly. “But what are we going to do about it?”

 

“That’s the thing- we don’t know. We can’t risk blabbin’ about it to the others but at the same time, we can’t singlehandedly stop them from killin’ each other. All we can really do is keep investigatin’ and hope we remember some new things…”

 

“While I do have a level of respect and concern for the others- I believe keeping you safe is a big priority.” Toujou told Hoshi calmly. “After all, you remember more than I do at this point in time.”

 

“I think we should try to keep both of you safe.” Saihara piped up. “I mean you’re both now more likely to remember new things. I, personally, can find nothing out of the ordinary with my own memories but…”

 

“And with the conflict with memories, it’s more likely Kirumi and I will be less affected by the motives.” Hoshi commented, followed by Toujou, “If we can keep our distance from the others and give them less reason to target us, we should be safe but I dislike the idea of letting the others be at risk.”

 

“Me too…”

 

“Either way, there isn’t much we can do at the moment. I guess we should wait and see what the next motive is…”

 

_ *Bing Bong Bing Bong* _

 

_ [Ahem~ Everyone get your asses to the gym~!] _

 

Speak of the devil. Maybe even literally. The three glanced at one another, knowing full well what to expect yet as reluctant she they were, they trudged over to the gym to listen to whatever convoluted motive Monokuma had cooked up...

 


	12. What are you doing here?

“H-Huh…? Revive somebody..?”

 

Monokuma’s grin seemed to stretch out as he laughed in his usual sickening tone- he raised his hands and the Monokumarz made their appearance.

 

“Absolutely right!! I’m sure you bastards are feelin’ pretty sorry for yourselves so I’m giving you the chance to bring somebody back to life!! Choose wisely~~ Upupupu~!” Monokuma chuckled as the Monokumarz gossipped amongst themselves.

 

“Wow! Papa is really generous isn’t he!”

 

“D’ya think we could bring back Monokid or Monosuke…?” 

 

“THIS-IS-A-GOOD-CHANCE-FOR-EVERYBODY-TO-GET-ALONG.”

 

Their little performance went relatively unnoticed as the others began to discuss the meaning behind the motive.

 

“T-This means...we could bring back Himiko…” Chabashira looked positively overwhelmed by the proposition until Momota cut through- “But what about Akamatsu or Amami or Iruma? Huh?”

 

Clearly, nobody was in a huge hurry to choose Iruma, but Saihara looked particularly downcast most likely thinking about Akamatsu. Hoshi and Toujou glanced at each other in worry. This would cause more conflict than they anticipated, especially between Saihara, who obviously favoured reviving Akamatsu and Chabashira, would would definitely opt to bring back Yumeno.

 

“I believe bringing somebody back would cause more conflict. I think it may just be better to leave things the way they are…” Toujou murmured.

 

“I don’t think you’re in any position to determine who lives or dies.” Harukawa retorted, icily and Toujou had to admit, she had a point. She could almost feel Hoshi glaring at Harukawa with that wide-eyed stare he had perfected.

 

“No, I’m backin’ Toujou on this one. We can’t just bring back one person- that’s not fair. S’probably better for all of us to just leave it alone.” Momota spoke loudly and though he, too, wanted to bring somebody back, looking at the bigger picture it was probably better to leave the situation be.

 

“On the contrary, I think it might be a rather helpful. Say we were to bring back somebody like Amami- we could potentially discover who the mastermind is.” Shinguji uttered, thoughtfully, and a few others agreed.

 

“Angie can make ritual statues easy-peasy~!! They’ll help us to channel their spirits!” Yonaga put her hands together in prayer, looking incredibly proud.”

 

“Hm...as much as I don’t like the idea- and don’t trust the idea...I guess bringing Amami back would be the most beneficial…” Hoshi muttered, eyeing Monokuma with suspicion- Monokuma who opted to act innocent at that point in time.

 

Toujou refrained from putting in her opinion.

 

“As much as I…” Saihara tugged the brim of his hat downwards to mask his expression, “...would like to bring Kaede back, I have to agree with Shinguji and Hoshi. Bringing back Amami would be more beneficial to us and...I think it’s what Kaede would have wanted.”

 

A moment of silence drifted over the group as they remembered Akamatsu- some fondly and others not so fondly. Despite how it ended, Hoshi couldn’t deny Akamatsu had a positive influence on the group- Saihara especially. 

 

And he respected the fact that it was unfair to Saihara and Chabashira to revive Amami but he believed if Amami was just as clueless as the rest of them he would most likely have voted to ignore the motive altogether.

 

That being said, revival was physically impossible, he was sure. After all he’d seen Akamatsu squashed to a pulp by that ginormous morbid piano. The fact he was even going along with it confused him but with his input out there, he decided to retreat and let the others do their own thing.

 

The end of the discussion resulted in Yonaga skipping off to start on the wax models for the ritual and Shinguji retreating to his newly opened study lab to assumedly do some research on the ritual. 

 

On the topic of research labs, Hoshi hadn’t even thought of his since the trial. He’d stopped by Toujou’s to grab cleaning materials and Toujou herself was a frequent visitor of her study lab to do laundry. The entire atmosphere of her study lab was oddly refreshing- a strange word to use considering the room was musty and stale.

 

He didn’t take the time to peruse the others- instead, he and Toujou returned to his room. He was sure Toujou was itching to do some chores but after the last series of accidents she was feeling a bit deflated.

 

“What’s your take on the whole revival motive…?” Hoshi questioned as they settled down on the bed. 

 

“While I generally believe it’s impossible...the entire situation we’re in makes me inclined to believe the mastermind really could do so. As for the person we chose...logically, Amami is the smartest choice as he seemed to know more about the situation than we did…”

 

“Yeah but he also talked about the Super High School Level Hunt, which...we kind of dismissed as being false, right? Well, I dunno, it could be possible but…”

 

“I think we should see what happens regarding this motive. It’s very possible the mastermind has something else planned under the guise of a ‘revival’...” Toujou pondered the possibility.

 

“You look tired, Kirumi.”

 

Toujou was momentarily speechless. She opened her mouth, but nothing came to either the mouth or the brain. Eventually, she hung her head slightly.

 

“I haven’t been this tired for a very long time...I’m not sure what’s wrong with me.” She gazed down at her outstretched palm, the glove hiding the bandage on her finger. “I thought I could pride myself on making no mistakes and being able to be the perfect maid but...when did I slip up so much…?”

 

“I think...that’s the real you shining through, y’know. Maybe you were made to believe you were the perfect maid. Maybe you aren’t the Ultimate Maid at all- hell maybe I’m not the Ultimate Tennis Player….maybe...we’re just normal people.”

 

His soft tone made Toujou smile gently- that thought was rather comforting. Having all the memories of an Ultimate- though she loved the work she did the prospect of being normal and talentless seemed...nice as well.

 

“I should probably be preparing dinner right now…” Toujou said, making a move to get up but Hoshi gently tugged at her dress. “I think you should leave it to them for a bit. It’s not like they can’t make their own dinner, not to mention...if they see you slipping up in the kitchen they’re gonna get suspicious.”

 

“That...is true.” Toujou admitted. “I can stick to doing the laundry and other cleaning. As long as I have something to keep me busy... “ She smiled.

 

“Well I hope I’m not borin’ you by draggin’ you back here every day…” Hoshi scratched the back of his head with a somewhat sheepish expression, to which Toujou looked surprised. “Not at all. I rarely experience this type of relationship. While I generally dislike being inactive, I find spending time with you to be very nice.”

 

His smile widened at the comment. “Man...I feel like I haven’t been this close to anybody either. Feels like I haven’t really had the time. I mean...I remember having friends but somehow they don’t feel real. Maybe they’re fake…” He gave a quiet laugh.

 

“Fake or not, I’m very happy you could find a friend in me.”

 

* * *

 

An hour of laundry later and Toujou and Hoshi were down in the cafeteria eating with the others. Hoshi was sure both of them would prefer to take their food upstairs but they could hold out for ten or fifteen minutes. A few words on the ritual took place during the meal.

 

“Angie’s sorted out all the models for the ritual! Now all she has to do is carve ‘em up a bit and make them look perfect!” She said, rather delighted with her work. 

 

“I will be able to prepare the ritual fairly easily.” Shinguji replied, smoothly. “I’ll be ready when Yonaga is.” 

 

The rest of the meal flew by. Thankfully for Toujou, the others had opted to clean their own plates so she was not at risk of any breakages but after two hours of mopping the hallways, the pair returned to Hoshi’s room.

 

“I wonder what will happen regarding the ritual. It seems like a potentially dangerous situation…” Toujou mused, habitually folding Hoshi’s clothes again. He’d grown used to it, finding it was easier to just let her do so that fight it.

 

“I wouldn’t trust Shinguji to open a door for me.” Hoshi remarked, “and Yonaga...Yonaga’s just a nutcase- and I don’t say that often.”

 

“She is rather eccentric.” Toujou smiled, “But she appears harmless though I do understand your reasoning. The two strangest individuals teaming up to, quite literally, revive somebody does sound like a cause for concern.”

 

“Are you gonna go?”

 

“Not if I can’t be helped.” She responded, flatly. “I can’t imagine you’re desperate to attend, either. Perhaps they will let us abstain this time around.”

 

“They’ll probably drag us in to watch. As long as I’m not an active part, I’ll be fine.”

 

“I finished folding your clothes- the night-time announcement will be any minute now. Will you...be alright by yourself…?” Toujou asked, softly.

 

Hoshi looked rather perturbed by the memory of that night. “S’pretty pathetic I couldn’t look after myself for one night. I’ll be fine.”

 

“That’s not what I asked though. Perhaps, let me rephrase. Would you like me to stay with you tonight?”

 

The more blunt wording took Hoshi off guard and he regretted removing his hat, now with nothing to hide behind.

 

“If….you felt obliged to I wouldn’t say no.” He finally said.

 

Which was his way of saying yes.

 

“There’s no shame in needing physical company after a traumatic event. I’d rather be here for you when it happens rather that you having to find me in the middle of the night. Not to mention it isn’t like you won’t adjust. You will become used to it eventually.” Toujou assured him, yet he still looked rather embarrassed.

 

Eventually, Hoshi gave into the embarrassment and after the night-time announcement sounded, he found himself curled up on one side of the bed, with Toujou laying flat as a board next to him.

 

Toujou, he was sure now, was definitely a comfort to him, which is odd in many ways but he also found himself sharing sentiments with her as well. It was mildly terrifying for him as he’d vowed the moment he woke up not to get close to anybody and that mindset still stuck but now he desperately wanted the fact he had never committed murder to be true purely so he could be friends with Toujou and not feel like a threat to her.

 

And if he really was capable of annihilating an entire mafia force using tennis then...the least he’d do was use that to protect her.

 

He fell asleep with that thought fresh in his mind.

 

  
  


* * *

 

_ “Your attendance records are unlike anything we’ve had before. We cannot keep making exceptions for you just because you decide not to show to lessons. We cannot keep wasting time on you.” _

 

_ It wasn’t that he decided not to show to lessons. He had more important things to do, but of course...he wasn’t about to say that. _

 

_ “I apologise but after consideration, our last decision is to expel you.” _

 

_ “W-Wait, you can’t…” _

 

_ He can’t get expelled again. There aren’t any more schools in the area-- _

 

_ “I’m afraid we can and we gave you many, many chances. It is a shame, seeing as you’re a very bright boy but...we cannot keep wasting resources on you when you do not comply with our rules.” _

 

_ “B-But…” _

 

_ “I’m afraid our decision is final. You’re welcome to hand your uniform back and we will refund the money spent on it, but I’m afraid this is goodbye.” _

 

_ He left that school with tears in his eyes and rage in his heart. That was it. He was out of school completely and the nearest school he hadn’t been expelled from was in the next prefecture. What the hell was he gonna tell the others…? _

 

_ … _

 

_ At least he got some money out of it. This meant he’d be working for real now….there was only so much money he could get from part time jobs and it wasn’t nearly enough to support the others. Ryoko was nearly old enough to work now but even then it wasn’t fair on her… _

 

_ He stormed out of the building for the last time, yet happy to see a familiar face at the gate. _

 

_ “Get kicked again, dintcha? That ain’t fair…” Her face was rarely sympathetic and her mouth, full of shark-like teeth looked strange pulled into a frown. _

 

_ “You’re tellin’ me. Got some cash out of it but...it’s not enough.” _

 

_ “She’s not gettin’ any better, is she?” _

 

_ “...” _

 

_ “Hey, hey, it’s chill, though. You got the luck of the devil on yer side- I’ll pull you guys through it!!” _

 

_ Katsuzaki Saza- the Pink Demon, as she’s known. Quite the devil, too, as she put it. _

 

_ … _

 

_ Wait...Saza..? _

 

_ The money in his hand seemed to feel ethereal, as did the floor beneath his feet. _

 

_ “Saza…? What are you doing here…?” _

 

_ … _

 

He woke up with tears streaming down his cheeks.

 


	13. Irony...

 

While Toujou hadn’t been awake to witness Hoshi roughly scrub the tears from his cheeks and attempt to get rid of the blotchiness from around his eyes, she did notice his rather downcast expression as he brushed his teeth.

 

“Are you feeling alright…?” Of course there’s no hesitation to ask him something like that but if he didn’t answer to her, then it was likely he wasn’t in a hurry to tell anybody else either. He sighed, but didn’t shrug the question off.

 

“I feel fine, but...I had a really weird dream last night.”

 

“A dream…?” Toujou murmured, absentmindedly folding Hoshi’s clothes again. He spat neatly into the sink, placed the toothbrush into it’s holder and stepped down from the stool he’d been so graciously provided with.

 

“Saza was in it. I dunno why, but...she was.”

 

“She was? What happened in the dream…?”

 

He sat back down on the bed- it was a little before half past 6 and long before people would rise to make breakfast. He slumped over a little bit.

 

“The beginning I don’t remember, it probably wasn’t anything, but I remember getting expelled from school.” He admitted, lowly. Toujou’s eyes widened but she didn’t look surprised. “Expelled…? For what reason?”

 

“Truancy, I assume...said they weren’t gonna keep wastin’ their time if I wasn’t gonna show, but--...I mean I’ve never been a preppy kind of guy but I’m not that bad. S’not like I missed school all the time.” 

 

“Expulsion for truancy...must mean you hardly showed at all. Perhaps maybe one lesson a week or so.” Toujou commented. “Not many people do that for no reason.”

 

“I did have a reason! Or...at least I think I did. I just remember thinking I absolutely couldn’t get expelled again but…” He looked confused and exhausted by the dream, rubbing his forehead roughly.

 

“Again? So it’d happened more than once?”

 

“Guess so...I left with some money and I remember thinking it wasn’t gonna be enough, but...then Saza was at the gates. We talked about somebody not getting better and after saying I could rely on her, I woke up…”

 

“Not getting better…?” Toujou put a hand to her chin. “Perhaps that’s why you thought the money wasn’t enough? Perhaps you were attempting to pay for medical treatment?”

 

“I mean...I remember feeling fuckin’ distraught by it but I just can’t remember why or who wasn’t getting better...and I’ve never...I don’t remember experiencing that before but it seemed way too vivid for a dream.”

 

“A...memory perhaps?”

 

Hoshi lifted his head. “You think so?”

 

“Well, I hope so.”

 

He suddenly gave a hollow laugh. “It...it sounds like such bullshit but...the way she fuckin’ looked at me- it was like she was actually trying to tell me. Like she was really going to help us get out of this mess- and the worst part is that I’m inclined to believe it.”

 

“Why might that be…?”

 

“You probably don’t know but-- well you know I was given the nickname Killer Tennis, though I don’t think that’s exactly applicable anymore but...Saza also had a nickname too. The Pink Demon- or sometimes The Pink Devil.”

 

“The Pink Devil?”

 

“She was...notorious for getting her own way no matter what- to the point it was just fuckin’ impossible. I mean, twisting somebody around your little finger to get what you want is one thing but people used to say she had the luck of the devil on her side and honestly...I believed it.”

 

“Did something happen to warrant that nickname?” Toujou placed Hoshi’s folded clothes back into his wardrobe.

 

“Course...it was...well, she was a champion table tennis player- an’ that’s not a false memory either ‘cause I remember her getting a tattoo of something about it on my birthday, but...a long while back she played at a national championship. She didn’t get a single point in at all, the guy she was playing was just too good, but the whole time she was cocky. She was confident that she was gonna win- even at the very end.”

 

“It sounds like you’re about to tell me she won?”

 

“She did. By the end of the game, the guy had a heart attack and died.”

 

Toujou was a person generally unfazed by most things but that statement allowed a gasp to escape from her lips, purely from how utterly unexpected it was and for something that, if it could be considered ‘lucky’, to happen it really did seem like the devil’s work.

 

“So...she won?”

 

“Pretty much...but the look she shot me after was like she knew it was gonna happen but that...it’s impossible for her to actually give that guy a heart attack so…course there were a buncha other incidents but...that’s Saza for ya.”

 

“Perhaps she tattooed her name on you because she knew it may save your life.” Toujou smiled in amusement and Hoshi gave another small laugh.

 

“Wouldn’t be fuckin’ surprised…”

 

“But regarding the dream...I remembered a while ago, when you first told me about how you were remembering two versions of the same event. You mentioned you remembered seeing your mother in hospital. Could that maybe be who ‘that person’ was?” Toujou offered.

 

Hoshi looked...oddly vacant for a moment.

 

“I...think you might be right. Does...that mean it was a memory…?”

 

“In your life as the Ultimate Tennis Player, do you remember ever having troubles being expelled- or perhaps financial problems…?” Toujou took a seat beside him on the bed.

 

“Not in the slightest, sure I was always a kind of delinquent at school but I had the money to go study abroad in America. I’m pretty sure my parents paid for it.” His expression was serious yet disbelieving. “But...in that dream all I could think about was that I’d have no money at all, so…”

 

“What about the tattoo you had done?”

 

“I saved up for that specially as a present for myself- pretty sure it wasn’t expensive either so. Guess Saza paid for the other one…” He muttered, dryly and Toujou chuckled lightly.

 

“So, in regards to having split memories- it appears one version of your life you were fairly financially stable yet in the other you were struggling. That may make differentiating them much easier.”

 

“Again, I dunno if that dream was a real memory but...it seems to explain a lot if it was.” He stated, leaving both of them deep in thought.

 

“Well...I can’t say I’ve had any of those kinds of dreams but I can imagine if I did then perhaps we may have found a way to discover more and more parts of ourselves.”

 

“Maybe you just gotta mess up again and it’ll all come floodin’ back.” Hoshi smirked, and Toujou gave something of an unimpressed pout.

 

“I suppose the others will be preparing for the ritual- it’s tomorrow afternoon, no? Yonaga will be done with her statues soon.” Toujou moved the conversation along swiftly as the two rose to finally leave Hoshi’s room to get something to eat. Toujou felt ashamed that she was now no longer catering for the other students but as long as she could do chores like laundry and cleaning she supposed she was alright.

 

They moseyed down to the cafeteria, passing Momota by.

 

“Hey, crap, uh-- there’s some breakfast left in the fridge I think! Also Saihara got dragged off with Kiibo and Gonta but he told me that if I saw you I’d tell you that he wants to talk to you two later.” He rubbed the back of his head, before giving a thumbs up.

 

“They said they’d be in Iruma’s study lab. Something about watches…”

 

“Watches…?” Hoshi uttered, perplexed.

 

“Don’t ask me, man.” Momota shrugged, before striding off, clearly with something in mind to do. The two shot each other a glance before deciding breakfast to be the best course of action. A cup of tea and some rice balls later, the two found themselves with not much left to do but chores.

 

Of course, Hoshi didn’t mind helping Toujou in the slightest. If anything, it gave him something to do and after giving Toujou the MP3 player, it was sweet to see her working whilst humming along to the music.

 

Hoshi continued to opt to mop the floors, it being a fairly simple task he could do and he didn’t mind performing repetitive tasks either. Occasionally, he and Toujou would pass each other by and shoot smiles at each other before returning back to their work.

 

That took up several hours and it was only after that did they remember about Saihara’s request.

 

“Momota said they’d be in Iruma’s study lab. I wonder what he meant by ‘watches’...?” Toujou murmured, as they stepped outside. “Perhaps they’re trying to make some.”

 

“It’s not like we need a definitive time source. I mean, there are clocks all over the place, on our pads and Monokuma makes the day-time and night-time announcements, so…” Hoshi shrugged, pondering the illogicality of the topic.

 

Yet when they entered the study lab, it became quite clear.

 

“Gonta can tell the time using the sun and the moon but Gonta’s never been too good at telling the time on clocks-- Kiibo offered to help me!” He said, proudly. Behind him, both Kiibo and Saihara were hunched over a worktop fiddling with something small- they supposed a wristwatch.

 

“So when Gonta finally gets home, he can show his family how much of a gentleman he’s become!”

 

“That’s very admirable, Gokuhara.” Toujou offered, sweetly, but eyed Saihara in silent questioning. Saihara looked flustered to explain but shot Kiibo a look. Kiibo gave a small nod.

 

“Gokuhara, there’s still a few materials I need, you might find them in the back. Could you go and grab them for us.”

 

Gokuhara, being a gentleman, did not refuse. He trotted over to the back section of the lab, leaving the four alone. Once he was out of earshot, Saihara spoke.

 

“I...I wanted to tell you that I informed Kiibo about your memories. Kiibo says he’s going to spend time looking through his internal files and looking for any anomalies.”

 

The two felt a spike of irritation about having told, but then realised that Kiibo was most like a beneficial choice. 

 

“Yes- if somebody has alteredmy memories the way they have with everybody else’s, my ability to search through my own data may give us some answers. If I find anything missing or anything contradictory I will let you know!” Kiibo looked rather proud to help and Gokuhara returned with another bag of tools.

 

“So...what’s going on with the ritual? Are the others still preparing?” Saihara questioned.

 

“We don’t know. We haven’t seen anybody all morning.” Hoshi replied, looking up at Toujou and Saihara. “I still think it’s a bad idea, though.”

 

“I think you might be right. It could potentially be one of Monokuma’s convoluted plans to off one of us.” Saihara commented. “Should...should we stop it?”

 

…

 

“I think we should. Or at least try to reason with them. It seems like too much of a trap.” Toujou decided. Hoshi muttered an agreement.

 

“Well...I’m still helping out Kiibo and Gokuhara- but we’ll tell you if...anything happens.” He said softly, with a glint in his eye, leaving Toujou and Hoshi to leave and attempt to reason with the others.

 

“Where were they holding the ritual again? One of the empty rooms on the upper floors, right?” They strolled down the path in the direction of the main school building. “I believe so. I...wonder if they think the ritual will really work…?”

 

“Yonaga probably does and...I think Chabashira just wants to believe. She really misses Yumeno…”

 

“That’s very true. Shinguji has a certain thing for rituals, I believe, but I wonder if he believes it’ll really work…”

 

“Ouma just wants to fuck something up.”

 

“I...can agree with that.”

 

They laughed but in a forced manner. Reasoning with the others would never be an easy task. Toujou knew for a fact some of those others would not listen to her- she had very little power in the way of reasoning now.

 

And as for whether or not anybody listened to Hoshi...he was grounded and could intimidate like it was nobody’s business but whether or not people actually took what he said into account was a different matter.

 

“Hey, is that Gokuhara over there?”

 

Hoshi pointed to where Gokuhara was making his way into the building using a different entrance. “Did he finish with his watch already?”

 

“I suppose he did…”

 

They entered the building and quietly made their way up to the upper floors, both wondering to themselves just how they were going to go about reasoning with the others. Yonaga’s spirituality was a force to be reckoned with for sure and Shinguji had a proper silver tongue when he wanted, making them an unstoppable force together.

 

And as for the others, who either were too desperate to refuse or too indifferent to the matter, none of them would help their case.

 

“This is the room, isn’t it…?”

 

They stopped. It was ominously silent, as often it was. They glanced at each other. “Guess so. What are we supposed to tell them…?”

 

“I suppose we should make it up as we go along.” Toujou grabbed the handle of the door and twisted.

 

....

 

*Bing Bong Bing Bong~*

 

[Ahem! A body has been discovered! After a short amount of time, the trial will begin!]

 

Unable to say much more than what the announcement had said, Hoshi and Toujou looked down in horror at the two corpses on the floor…

 

....of Shinguji Korekiyo and Chabashira Tenko.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHEN YOU POST IT ON THE WRONG STORY THANK YOU OGGS I'M--


	14. Investigation 2

“Holy...shit.”

 

“D-Did something happen!? We heard the body discovery announ--!!”

 

“W-Wah!!”

 

It took about a minute for everybody to gather to the scene of the murder, where each student gazed down at the scene with horror and...odd curiosity.

 

“Upupupu~ Man, the ritual hadn’t even started!! Oh well, I’m not complaining!” Monokuma jeered, having appeared as per the norm, with his cubs in tow.

 

“H-Huff….I can’t take this much blood…”

 

“Hey! Get the hell out of here!” Momota yelled at the small bear. Monokuma shrugged amicably, before placing a folder on the floor as if offering peace. “Alright, alright, but you can’t get started without your Monokuma File~! And don’t say I never did anything for ya!”

 

With a screechy laugh, he vanished with the cubs who, curiously, had less to say this time around. The remaining students looked around at one another, before looking back on the scene.

 

INVESTIGATION START

 

“So...the victims are Shinguji and Chabashira, huh…? That’s pretty nasty…” Momota commented.

 

“I think...as a first thought, we should look at the bodies.” Saihara murmured. “I mean, look at their placements.” Hoshi and Toujou gazed down at the bloodied corpses.

 

Shinguji was laying on his right side, blood oozing from his face. A bloodied katana lay limply in his right hand. Curiously enough, opposite him, Chabashira lay on her left side with a slightly bloodied plank of wood next to her. A wound on her upper chest, below her right shoulder suggested she had been stabbed with the katana but there was also a surprising amount of blood coming from her head. If common sense was anything to go by, the placement of blood on the end of the plank would suggest Shinguji was attacked with it.

 

[EVIDENCE - BLOODIED PLANK]

 

[EVIDENCE - BLOODIED KATANA]

 

[EVIDENCE - CHABASHIRA’S CHEST WOUND]

 

[EVIDENCE - SHINGUJI’S HEAD WOUND]

 

[EVIDENCE - CHABASHIRA’S HEAD WOUND]

 

“Huh...this isn’t right…”

 

A few heads turned to Shirogane who was perusing the Monokuma File.

 

“Only Chabashira’s autopsy is in here. There’s nothing about Shinguji at all.”

 

Huh…? Now that didn’t seem right.

 

“Come to mention it…” Toujou’s eyes were wide with realisation. “We only heard one body announcement. Isn’t there an announcement per body- because if that was the case…”

 

“...then one of them is still alive.”

 

The students around the room scrambled to the bodies, specifically to Shinguji, who was now suspected to be alive in an attempt to rouse him. Toujou leant down, removed her gloves and, put a hand to his neck and then his wrist.

 

“He’s alive. He still has a pulse. Shinguji- can you hear me?” She very gently shook Shinguji’s shoulder, speaking loudly in a hope to awaken him.

 

It took about two minutes for Shinguji to finally come to, but he seemed incredibly out of sorts.

 

“I...my, what happened…?” He murmured, forcing himself up and removing his hat to clutch his blood-stained head. “I’m...covered in blood…?”

 

“You should lay down somewhere- please try not to fall asleep.” Toujou fretted over him and she and Kiibo gently helped him to the corner of the room where he could lean against the wall.

 

“Did...something happen?” He asked, airily, seemingly having no concept of the situation. Toujou produced a handkerchief and assisted him in mopping up the blood. “There certainly is a lot of blood here…”

 

“Speaking of a lot of blood- Yonaga, what the hell happened to you?!”

 

Yonaga giggled, in that way she did, but her image was quite distressing. The majority of her head and hair was covered in...what appeared to be blood until she explained, “Angie is just fine! This is paint- it’s paint! I was painting the wax dolls! I was mixing the colour for Akamatsu's clothes but I spilled it all over myself instead!” She assured.

 

“Gonta can attest to that! Yonaga asked Gonta to help her with the painting at...3:30PM!” He smiled, looking rather proud as he glanced at his watch. Those who knew of his new fondness for being able to tell the time on a watch, smiled politely.

 

“Thank you, Gokuhara. Maybe that’ll be helpful…” Saihara said, softly.

 

[GOKUHARA’S ACCOUNT]

 

“Not...not to be  _ that guy _ , but...this seems really, really...obvious.” Momota sighed, glancing over at Shinguji, who seemed to be rather dazed yet in relatively high spirits as Toujou explained to him the situation.

 

“Well...he was holding the katana. It just looked like they’d attacked each other, doesn’t it?” Shirogane mused, reading through Chabashira’s autopsy. “It says her death was from a chest wound. The time of death was...3:23PM”

 

[EVIDENCE - TIME OF DEATH]

 

“How’s he doing….?” Hoshi glanced over at Toujou and Shinguji.

 

“He seems to be alright now but the head wound is rather nasty. Would you like some water?” Toujou fussed over him, repeatedly checking his head wound and almost ignoring him when Shinguji refused.

 

“So, uh...we need to know what happened I guess.” Hoshi stated. “Chabashira’s dead and we need to know what you have to do with it.”

 

“I did hear, but I’m...afraid I don’t remember anything. Forgive me for being so frank, but...I’m not sure I remember your name, either.” He murmured, letting his fingers drift over his mask as if he was confused by his presence. Hoshi sighed. Wonderful.

 

“Hoshi Ryoma. That’s Toujou Kirumi.” He pointed to Toujou. “You’re absolutely sure you remember nothing…?”

 

“I’m afraid not. I’m not sure where I am or how I came to be here...I apologise.” He said softly, absentmindedly picking at his bandages in a manner that seemed rather odd. “Don’t worry about it. Maybe you can use those bandages for your head wound or something.” Hoshi remarked.

 

“Hmm….Hah...got it.”

 

“Got what…”

 

Shinguji held up something invisible between his thumb and forefinger- well...it was invisible until Hoshi took a closer look.

 

A..splinter?

 

“It’s rather large- seemed to pierce through these bandages. I...wonder how that got there.” He remarked, softly. Hoshi rolled his eyes. This wasn’t going so well, but he wasn’t about to explain that to Shinguji. In fact….people seemed to be avoiding him outright. Guess he really was the biggest suspect here.

 

[EVIDENCE - SPLINTER]

 

“What...do you think?” Hoshi asked Saihara lowly, hoping Saihara might have a different angle on the whole case. Something didn’t sit right with him about the circumstances of this murder, but…

 

“It’s so hard to say. There’s no evidence to prove that this wasn’t a fight that ended badly. We found a saw over there- it seems like somebody’s been cutting up the floorboards, which...is probably where the plank came from.”

 

“Do you think that’s Shinguji’s fault?”

 

“He was the one setting up in here- I can’t imagine it could’ve been anybody else, but...something about Chabashira’s body is strange. I might be...imagining things but...maybe I’ll just check the body one more time…” Saihara smiled, weakly. 

 

“It sucks this had to happen…”

 

“We probably could’ve prevented it, but...maybe it really was Shinguji. Maybe it was why he was so eager to do the ritual, but he doesn’t seem to remember at all…” Hoshi mused. “He seems totally out of it.”

 

“Do you think he’ll be able to stand at the trial? That wound looks serious and if it’s caused him amnesia, then…” Saihara trailed, glancing over at Shinguji who had now managed to get to his feet, being lead outside by Toujou.

 

“Toujou’s biggest problem is letting him fall asleep. I think she’s gonna try and glue the wound together and stop the bleeding but I think he’ll be fine.”

 

“I...almost hope so…” Saihara mumbled. “I’m going to look over Chabashira’s body once more. I’m...I might have something, but...I might need help in the trial.”

 

“You think Shinguji didn’t do it…?”

 

“You think the same thing.” Saihara stated, rather flatly for him. Hoshi smirked. “Didn’t think I was that transparent. I mean...logically, the situation makes sense but…”

 

“We’re too scared to mess up.” Saihara smiled. “Especially since we’re getting closer to getting out.” And with that, he turned to leave for Chabashira’s corpse, leaving Hoshi with nothing to do but seek Toujou and Shinguji once more…

 

* * *

 

“How is he?”

 

“I think he’s fine, now. I managed to fix up the worst parts and the bleeding has more or less stopped. I would rather he refrained from falling asleep just in case. Perhaps taking him to the trial is a good idea.” Toujou wondered.

 

“Saihara’s lookin’ over the body again. How’re you feelin’?”

 

“My head is still sore, but I could be worse.” Shinguji visibly smiled from behind his mask, oddly chipper for the situation. “I apologise for the situation- I genuinely cannot remember what’s happened but...I’m sure I wouldn’t try to kill somebody.”

 

Odd, coming from him. Shinguji had many traits of a serial killer- he was creepy in the eyes of the others, but...right now he seemed rather...normal. Rather placid.

 

“Did Toujou tell you about the situation we’re in?”

 

“Oh, yes, she was kind enough to fill me in. I must say, it’s rather surreal…” He put a finger to the zip of his mask. Hoshi tilted his head. “I...guess that’s one way of putting it…?”

 

“Mm, not like that. I’ve seen these kinds of tropes in movies, but this one seems very...familiar…”

 

“Familiar? Probably cause you’ve been here for a while, man.”

 

“No, no, I mean...I think I used to watch a television program with a gimmick like this. For the life of me I can’t remember what it was called but I’m awfully sure I did.” Shinguji’s way of speaking seemed much lighter than normal- almost like a personality shift.

 

“I’ve never been a fan of television. I’d watch a few sport programs or something, but...I don’t really remember watching much. My little siblings used to be obsessed with it though. Couldn’t drag ‘em away from it. Guess that’s kids for ya…” He chuckled, though the thought seemed rather bittersweet at the time.

 

“I don’t believe my parents were overly fond of television. I don’t profess to watch much either but I like to keep it on in the background.”

 

“I didn’t know you had siblings…” Toujou smiled at Hoshi, putting the medical equipment she’d used away. Hoshi shrugged, almost sheepishly. “Never thought to mention it. Don’t suppose you have any?”

 

“I’m afraid not. I’ve never had much in the ways of family.” Toujou seemed to smile saying this and though her eyes expressed sorrow, she still seemed rather indifferent to the fact.

 

“That seems rather unfortunate…” Shinguji commented. Toujou shook her head. “Not at all, I’m rather happy where I am. Though on family matters, you have a sister, don’t you? I’m sure both of your families are worried sick about you…” The way she spoke sounded more maternal than anything but Shinguji looked perplexed.

 

“I’m...afraid you’re mistaken. I’m an only child.”

 

“I’m...sorry? I do believe I’ve heard you talking about having an older sister before. Am I wrong?” Toujou looked rather surprised, and Hoshi too as they had undeniably heard Shinguji reference his sister during conversation.

 

“I’m afraid so. I’ve never had a sibling- I’m quite sure of that.” He seemed rather certain. Hoshi wondered if that may be the amnesia, but…

 

“Who do you have for family then? Just...as a question. Do you remember?” He asked, carefully. Shinguji seemed unperturbed. “Of course I remember. Both of my parents- my grandmother lived with us for a short time but she passed away a few years ago.”

 

“I apologise for your loss.” Toujou offered, but looked equally concerned.

 

Shinguji seemed to have no problems remembering a few years ago, yet seemed very certain he didn’t have a sister. Furthermore, if he did have a sister and the amnesia had erased such memories, said sister would still be at most a few years old, making her younger and giving no reason for Shinguji to say he had an older sister.

 

Of course, Shinguji’s behaviour was quirky and it wasn’t strange to assume he’d say things just because but he seemed to speak of her fondly…

 

...did this mean the head wound had affected his memory in the same way the drowning had affected Hoshi?

 

*Bing Bong Bing Bong*

 

[It’s Trial Time! Everybody make your way to the elevator~!]

 

“There’s...a trial?” Shinguji tilted his head, but the pain from the wound made his look like he was leaning to one side.

 

“I’m afraid so. It’s...mandatory to hold a trial after a murder and with almost every piece of evidence against you…”

 

Shinguji looked rather pale. “What...will happen to me if I’m found guilty…?”

 

They glanced at one another. “We...we’ll explain later- but Saihara thinks you’re innocent if that’s any consolation. He’s looking over Chabashira’s body again to make sure he hasn’t missed anything.” 

 

“I see…”

 

Shinguji pulled himself up, stumbling towards the door until Toujou gently took him by the arm. “I’m sure the others will be patient.” Hopefully. “We’ll get this sorted out.”

 

It was impossible to tell if Shinguji was guilty or not but if that head wound had really knocked his memories into place then Shinguji would be invaluable to their escape. If anything, they needed to prolong the trial and find out anything that Shinguji may know. Hoshi silently prayed Saihara had something up his sleeve to help them out as the three of them joined the others at the elevator.

  
  



	15. Trial 2

 

“Upupupu~ Now I don’t gotta explain the rules again to all you bastards, do I?” Monokuma laughed shrilly, glancing over at Shinguji, who looked ready to keel over at any moment, gripping the edges of his stand and looking around the room with uncertainty.

 

“It’s...painfully clear who the murderer is…” Shirogane murmured, looking rather pointedly over at Shinguji. “I agree but for the sake of the trial…” Kiibo reasoned.

 

“First up- Toujou, what’s the situation with Shinguji, then?” Momota began and, as Toujou and Hoshi had expected, all eyes were on the anthropologist.

 

“It’s undeniable Shinguji has suffered a serious head wound, possibly inflicted by Chabashira herself, but the blow seems to have had a nasty impact on his memories. He doesn’t seem to remember what happened, where he is or who we are. We did our best to fill him in on the way here…” Toujou explained.

 

“I’m not saying it’s convenient but…” Harukawa trailed, but had no need to finish her sentence. Ouma finished anyway.

 

“Maybe he’s pretending! He could be totally lying right now!”

 

“At the very least, I think we should just go through what happened…” Saihara murmured, looking rather deflated. “Starting with the Monokuma File- it reads that Chabashira suffered a head wound and a chest wound, the chest wound being the killing blow. Death was apparently instantaneous...”

 

“There’s no doubt the katana did that- it even went through the other side! No wonder she died so quickly...” Yonaga chirped.

 

“I have no qualms about that…” Kiibo nodded. “There didn’t seem to be anything else in the vicinity to cause a wound like that.”

 

“Which means the plank was what caused the head wounds- but if the plank caused both Shinguji and Chabashira’s wounds then that means both of them must’ve had the plank at one point…”

 

“There was that saw we found too...we think it was used to cut the plank out of the floorboards.”

 

“That makes sense.”

 

Looking over, Shinguji looked incredibly pale, almost sweating but he appeared to have no words.

 

“So...God says it happened like this.” Yonaga began, “Tenko walked into the room where Shinguji was cutting up the floorboards! Shinguji hit Tenko with the plank but Tenko was so strong she managed to wrestle the plank from him and hit him with it but Shinguji grabbed the katana and stabbed her! It was like a double knockout! Except Tenko died.” Yonaga finished, looking rather proud by her spiel, but everybody looked rather bewildered.

 

“Yonaga….you’re still covered in paint.”

 

“Angie had no time to shower! And it’s okay~! Angie can clean up after the trial!”

 

“Alright, but...something doesn’t seem right about that…” Saihara murmured. “I mean...for the sake of clearing it up, let’s look at the head wounds and the blood on the plank. I looked at Chabashira’s body- the head wound was around her right temple and judging from the shape of the wound...see where the blood is splattered here…”

 

Saihara gestured to the plank, where a hefty blood splatter spread over one corner in particular. “The blood splatter here and the dent on the side of Chabashira’s head match up…”

 

“What’s your point, Saihara….?”

 

“O-Okay, but...Toujou-san, where was Shinguji’s head wound…?”

 

“I’d be surprised if you couldn’t see it.”

 

Looking over at Shinguji, she had a point. The bridge of his nose was split open and there was a very noticeable rectangular-shaped bruise across the bottom of his forehead and over his eyes. 

 

“It matches with the blood splatter on the very end…”

 

“Still haven’t made your point, Saihara.”

 

“W-What I’m trying to say, is...the placement of Shinguji’s wound doesn’t seem like something Chabashira would accomplish. If you angled the plank logically to match up with the wound…” Saihara attempted on himself, holding the plank in his hands and pointing the end up against his forehead.

 

“While somebody undeniably swung the plank into Chabashira’s head...the way Shinguji’s wound matches with the plank suggests more of a jabbing motion…” He concluded.

 

“Maybe we could test it out on you!” Ouma suggested, brightly. “Or Kiibo!”

 

“O-Ouma, please don’t!”

 

“What’s this supposed to accomplish…?” Harukawa asked, icily. Saihara didn’t shrink back, but still looked rather uncertain.

 

“It...it doesn’t seem like Chabashira to make such an attack, especially if we assume she was attacked first. And if we think about it logically, Chabashira would definitely be dizzy after being hit like that. It seems more possible that Chabashira would have swung the plank…”

 

“Saihara, I do fail to see your meaning…”

 

“Actually, I have a point to make…” Hoshi begun, “Chabashira’s death was instantaneous, right? And Shinguji was undoubtedly knocked clean out by the plank, so...who got hit first? Cause no matter how you look at it, neither of them would’ve been conscious long enough to attack the other…”

 

“Angie already said it was at the same time!”

 

“And not only that…” Toujou added. “The placement of Shinguji’s wound and the amount of blood, especially if you look at the plank-” The blood seemed to stretch down the whole length of the plank like a short blood explosion, “-then the person to hit Shinguji with the plank would’ve had to have gotten blood on themselves.”

 

“Toujou’s right, y’know. I’ve smacked a couple of people in that area and trust me, the blood really does just spurt out!” Momota raised a clenched fist. “There were small spots of blood on the floor as well.”

 

“Yet Tenko had no blood on her clothes other that the area she was stabbed and the side of her head. Say she hit Shinguji with the plank in that way- she would’ve gotten at least a little on either her torso or her skirt, but it’s clean.”

 

“You aren’t seriously suggesting somebody else came in and hit her.”

 

“I think we need to determine who was knocked out first but it seems impossible for the moment…” Shirogane mused.

 

“Actually, I don’t think it is…” Toujou smiled. “After all, we’re forgetting Chabashira was the Neo Aikido master. If Shinguji attacked her with the plank, Chabashira would easily be able to retaliate. Chabashira is undeniably stronger than Shinguji, after all. It seems far more likely she was able to take him down first.”

 

“That’s true but how did she get the head wound, then? Nobody could get a hit at Chabashira…so how did she get hit with the plank?”

 

“Not even Gonta could take Chabashira by surprise…”

 

…

 

“Gokuhara that’s it!” Saihara smiled, “I think Chabashira was taken by surprise!”

 

“But then doesn’t that mean Shinguji could’ve been lying in wait to get behind her and smack her with it?”

 

“Remember the placement of the bodies. They were lying right in the centre of the room. Even if Shinguji had taken her by surprise from that angle, Chabashira was still conscious wasn’t she? That means she would be the one to knock him out but she had no reason to drag his body to the centre of the room…” Toujou reminded them.

 

“Maybe Shinguji was the one who was attacked? I mean...who’s to say Shinguji even held the plank in the first place?”

 

“No, I know he did. He got a splinter from it- you can even see the plank is a little splintered on the side…”

 

“So...Shinguji definitely held that plank at one point. Isn’t that right?” Ouma asked, Shinguji with a grin, but Shinguji could only deny it weakly. He hadn’t much to say at all during the trial but Toujou and Hoshi were unsure of how to approach the situation. They couldn’t reveal the fact Shinguji’s memories may have potentially returned just yet.

 

“The placement of the bodies prove he couldn’t have taken Chabashira by surprise but...I think it’s possible Shinguji may have been planning an attack.”

 

“Wow, Saihara! You think Shinguji was gonna off somebody?”

 

“He may not remember it now, but...when you look at the fact he couldn’t have attacked Chabashira like that, it means that...it was most likely Shinguji who was knocked out first. In fact, such an attack was probably not even his intention…”

 

“But if we take into account the splinter proves he had taken the plank, and rather carelessly too, it means he had intended to attack somebody but as you said, such a method of attack seems very unlikely for Shinguji…” Toujou murmured.

 

“Meaning...the only reason he’d have to perform such an uncalculated attack would be...if he had been discovered.” Harukawa finished.

 

“Does this mean...Shinguji didn’t kill Tenko…?” Yonaga wondered aloud. “How’d that happen?”

 

“We don’t know for sure if Chabashira was the one to knock out Shinguji. As Toujou said earlier, there was little blood on Chabashira aside from her wounds.” Kiibo stated.

 

“So, we know for a fact there’s another person.” Momota nodded. “In that case, it could’ve gone one of two ways. Either Shinguji attacked Chabashira but was knocked out by her and somebody discovered the two of them, or somebody discovered Shinguji and managed to knock him out only to be discovered by Chabashira.”

 

“Not only the blood, either. Chabashira could’ve easily beaten Shinguji without attacking him with the plank. Chabashira wouldn’t try to kill him- if anything she would’ve tried to subdue him.” Hoshi pointed out.

 

“That’s true~ Tenko was a very good girl!”

 

“Meaning...we should assume that somebody else had discovered Shinguji’s plan and knocked him out. I guess that means we should start looking at alibis.”

 

“Well the murder took place at 3:23PM but the body was said to be discovered at 3:35PM. That’s a pretty big window of time and Shinguji could’ve been knocked out any time before that…”

 

“Saihara, Gokuhara, Toujou, Hoshi and I were in Iruma’s lab before 3:23PM. Toujou and Hoshi were even the ones to discover the body.” Kiibo announced. “So none of us could’ve done it.”

 

“I couldn’t have done it and though I hate to say it, neither could’ve Ouma.” Momota snarled. “Asshole kept trying to wreck Yonaga’s statutes so I spent half the day chasing the fucker around.” 

 

Ouma merely grinned. “Don’t be scared of loving me~!”

 

“Which leaves...Gokuhara, Yonaga, Harukawa and Shirogane.”

 

“Gokuhara was helping Angie with the paint ‘cause she spilled it all over her face! Ain’t that right, Gokuhara!”

 

“Indeed it was!”

 

“Which...leaves Harukawa and Shirogane.” Toujou concluded, as eyes fell on the two girls. Shirogane looked rather nervously but Harukawa kept her poker-face.

 

“I know my word means nothing without an alibi but I didn’t kill Chabashira. I’m not stupid enough to take on a Neo Aikido master…” She said quietly, twisting the ends of her hair around her fingers.

 

“I can’t imagine Chabashira attacking one of the girls, but...if Chabashira was suddenly distracted by Shinguji’s ‘body’ it would be easy for somebody to hit her from behind and once somebody had done that, she would’ve lashed out...”

 

“But she wouldn’t lash out to kill, either.”

 

“Nobody here has blood on themselves, but at the same time there was a pretty big window between the murder and the body discovery. Is that enough time to change?”

 

“Shirogane looks pretty nervous!!”

 

“I-I do not! I can’t help it if I’m being suspected.” She replied, quietly but to their surprise, Saihara came to her defense.

 

“No, I know for a fact it wasn’t Shirogane. It couldn’t be. See...I checked over Chabashira’s body again just in case I’d missed an angle, and...I guess that’s rather ironic.”

 

“Ironic?”

 

“The angle of the stab wound. You can’t tell without lifting Chabashira’s shirt up but the wound goes up, like as a 45 degree angle. Shirogane is taller than Chabashira and of course it would be at an angle if she was stabbed using the katana but the angle was so steep it had to be somebody fairly short who had done it.”

 

“....Harukawa is pretty short.”

 

Harukawa went slightly purple at the remark. Shirogane, however, looked relieved.

 

“So...Harukawa, was it you?”

 

“You’re mistaken. I haven’t been near that room at all. There was no reason for me to even be there.”

 

“That...that’s true. Motive-wise, Harukawa wanted nothing to do with the ritual, but...is the motive to stop it from happening enough?” Kiibo questioned.

 

“I didn’t care if it happened or not- I just didn’t want to be a part of it.”

 

“Harukawa isn’t the only suspect left either.” Hoshi muttered. “Gokuhara, what time did you go to help Yonaga with her paint?”

 

“Oh, that’s easy! 3:30PM!”

 

…

 

“After...the murder happened.”

 

Yonaga seemed to be entirely unfazed by the accusation. “I didn’t do it! Nope, not at all! I mean...you’ve got no proof I was there.”

 

“But if Gokuhara was there at 3:30PM like he says, then that would’ve given you time to do it, evidence or not.”

 

“Nope! That watch was wrong, so I fixed it!” She declared, leaving Saihara momentarily breathless. “That...can’t be right, Kiibo adjusted it to his internal clock. Gokuhara, what does your watch say right now?”

 

“4:47PM.” He responded, after some time.

 

“That’s...weird. That time is right. It matches my internal clock, but...it was fine when I set it up earlier.”

 

“Yonaga said Gonta’s watch was ten minutes off? She fixed it for Gonta.”

 

“But that’s impossible, I watched Kiibo set it to the right time. Did you do anything to it?”

 

“Gonta swears he didn’t touch it!”

 

“But, assuming...assuming Yonaga had fixed it, she claimed it was ten minutes off and whether it’s slow or fast means it was too early or too late.”

 

“So what time did Gokuhara join Yonaga?”

 

Yonaga looked entirely unperturbed by the accusations against her and the smile she wore looked painfully forced but the look Hoshi sent over to Toujou screamed to her he knew she did it.

 

In fact, it was very likely Yonaga had done it, she matched up with the height for both hitting Shinguji with the plank and stabbing Chabashira and messing with Gokuhara’s watch managed to throw everybody off to the point nobody was sure what time they’d met up.

 

And Yonaga looked absolutely bright as ever. Of course people would be inclined to vote her but the lack of concrete evidence against her in comparison with Harukawa left people unable to decide.

 

“I say we just vote for who we want and vote for the best!”

 

“No!”

 

“We...can’t afford to mess up here.”

 

That being said, everybody suspected Yonaga but the fear of somehow making the wrong decision weighed too heavily, especially on Toujou and Hoshi who now needed to make the right decision to keep Shinguji alive.

 

“Yonaga. Something’s been bothering me for a while now. I know it must seem petty, but...would you mind letting me clean the paint off of you?” Toujou offered, politely, but very flatly. To the others surprise, Yonaga looked alarmed.

 

“Huh? Nah, nah, you don’t need to do that! Angie will shower after we all leave the trial room!”

 

‘We’ possibly meaning ‘her’.

 

“Oh, but I insist.” Toujou added, sweetly. “I’m sure Monokuma won’t mind lending me five minutes to wipe the blood from your face.”

 

“N-Nope! Angie is just fine!”

 

In an uncharacteristically aggressive move, Toujou darted around her stand and Yonaga suddenly fled, resulting in a chase around the courtroom. Though the majority of the students suspected Yonaga as the guilty party, they could not understand just why Toujou was so insistent to clean her up. No matter the timing of the meetup, Gokuhara knew it was paint. It didn’t even have the same consistency as blood.

 

Yet Monokuma let the chase continue, laughing as he watched, which led Saihara to believe he had his reasons to let this carry out.

 

Toujou, being more athletic than Yonaga, managed to pin her down.

 

“G-Get off! This isn’t fair! Angie told you Angie didn’t do it and you don’t have proof and you don’t have to wash Angie’s faaaace!!” She cried, but Toujou whipped out her handkerchief (still slightly bloody from Shinguji’s use) and began to mop up some of the dried paint.

 

“T-Toujou, I know you’re obsessed about cleanliness but there’s no reason to--”

 

“OW!”

 

Toujou recoiled slightly, as Yonaga flinched wildly and tears began to brim in her eyes but the way she bit her lip suggested she was holding them back. Toujou had noticed her seemingly placid smile, which looked so obviously forced but not for the reasons they had suspected.

 

Toujou now realised Yonaga had been in pain during the entire trial.

 

Now more gently and with less resistance, Toujou gently mopped up some of the paint from the side of Yonaga’s forehead before discovering what appeared to be some kind of wound.

 

It was rather large, open and if Yonaga had drenched herself in paint with the purpose of hiding it, it would explain why her smiles looked so forced. The paint must’ve been stinging the wound horribly for the entire of the investigation and the trial.

 

Eventually, Toujou brought Yonaga up, lifting her fringe to show the others her head wound. A head wound that suspiciously matched up with the plank that had been used to attack both Shinguji and Chabashira.

 

“Yonaga, we know it was you. That wound is now proof you were there. Why...don’t you just explain what happened.”

 

The tears continued to brim in her eyes, but she refused to cry.

 

“It...it was an accident. A-Angie went over to the ritual room to see what Shinguji was doing but all Angie saw was the sawn up floor. Then she heard something and Angie almost got hit with the plank but she managed to catch it at the right time! S-Shinguji tried to hit Angie with the plank and Angie managed to fight him off but then Angie suddenly hit him with it and he started bleeding so badly!” She whimpered.

 

“A-And then Angie heard somebody coming so she hid but Tenko came in and Angie knew Tenko was gonna tell so Angie hit her! B-But then Tenko panicked and-- we had a fight and then Tenko tried to run away but Angie got scared and--”

 

She huffed loudly, allowing the tears to fall finally.

 

“A-Angie know she did wrong…”

 

“Yonaga, it wasn’t as if you were...being malicious. You panicked when Shinguji tried to attack you.” Kiibo offered.

 

Shinguji, himself, looked rather unreadable. He brought a hand to his head with a soft sigh. “So I suppose I’m the root cause of this entire problem, even if I did not physically kill Chabashira…”

 

A rather...uncomfortable silence passed, until Yonaga broke away from Toujou’s arm and tripped over to Shinguji, putting her hands on his shoulders, but the height difference made it look rather silly.

 

“Angie is okay. Angie forgives you for trying to kill her and it’s okay because Angie is going to go and live with God now and Angie will be very happy so it’s all okay!” She assured, leaving several people rather open-mouthed in shock.

 

She...was taking it better than expected.

 

“I-I’m..afraid I really don’t understand why I would do such a thing…” Shinguji murmured, causing Toujou and Hoshi to sweat slightly. They didn’t want the others to find out Shinguji may have remembered something important just in case the mastermind really lurked among them.

 

But...it was now clear Yonaga had killed Chabashira out of panic and though nobody liked to see their peers die...the fact Yonaga seemed at peace with it was comforting. At that moment, nobody felt remotely inclined to speak against her God.

 

“I hope you’re ready, ‘cause it’s voting time~!” Monokuma announced cheerfully and one by one, each person voted for Yonaga.

 

“My, my, an absolutely unanimous vote! No surprises there!” Monokuma teased but as he was about to erupt into a despair-filled spiel, Shinguji suddenly buckled and fell to his knees. Yonaga was subsequently carried away to her execution, to which the group witnessed, but not with heavy hearts.

 

They wished Yonaga well in her new afterlife.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you all knew who it was also i can't be bothered to re read and check my facts because i'm tired so imagine it all makes sense


	16. Anthro-what now?

 

The night of the trial, nobody spoke any more of what happened. Toujou had offered that night to watch over Shinguji while he rested, in case any complications were to arise due to his head injury.

 

That meant Hoshi was sleeping alone that night. He wasn’t upset by this at all- after all Shinguji’s needs were far greater than his at the moment but the prospect of waking up alone brought him unease. Nonetheless, he bid them both goodnight.

 

But he didn’t expect the dreams to overcome him so quickly…

 

…

 

_ “I….I’m sorry…” _

 

_ “Don’t do this to yourself, Ryoma. You don’t need to worry about me…” _

 

_ The voice comes from a face he can’t quite see but he knows it’s smiling and it all seems so familiar but all he can feel is dread. _

 

_ “But I need to do something- you can’t keep going like this.” _

 

_ “You’re throwing away some of the most precious days of your life. Enjoy them.” _

 

_ Easier said than done when he knows his pockets are empty.  _

 

_ “You’re not getting any better. You need to get it checked out--” _

 

_ “I’ll be fine. And don’t think you’re off the hook about getting expelled- that’s the last school in the area! What do you think you’re going to do now?” _

 

_ Trust her to flip the tables to scold him. He has the decency to look sheepish, scuffing his battered shoes against the wooden flooring. That, too, has seen better days. _

 

_ “Work.” _

 

_ She sighs out of exasperation, but not annoyance. She knows he wants to do everything in his power to help and watching him essentially throw away his childhood is too much to bear for her. _

 

_ “It’s okay!” He suddenly reassures her. “I’ll...I’ll work some more, I can get some more money and...we can get you checked out--” _

 

_ “I keep telling you, I’m fine.” _

 

_ “You’re not!” He rarely shouts, especially not to them, but he can’t help it when she’s lying through her teeth to him. Her expression noticeably darkens- “You’re not fine and I can see it!” _

 

_ “Don’t you dare shout at me like that- and don’t you dare start telling this shit to your siblings! You’ll fill their heads with worries they don’t need at that age!” She snaps. He holds his tongue, but doesn’t retreat.  _

 

_ “You’re still in deep trouble for not going to school. How the hell did you expect to get a job without even graduating high school?!” _

 

_ “Experience.” _

 

_ Wrong answer. _

 

* * *

 

 

He wakes up no more than ten minutes later with a heavy heart- in the same way one would have leaving an argument unresolved but the dream seemed to put things into perspective for him. Two dreams in a row of life with financial instability and it’s really telling him something.

 

He gets out of bed, pads out of his room and down the hall to Shinguji’s, where Toujou is sure to be. He knocks as lightly as he can on the door and the door quietly creaks open seconds later. Her expression implies she’d been expecting him all night.

 

“Did you have another bad dream?” She questions, unsure as Hoshi doesn’t appear to be drenched in sweat as often he is after a bad night. He shrugs, because it was bad in an aspect he couldn’t quite explain.

 

“Had a dream about my past life again….I think.” He whispers. Shinguji snores softly on his bed, curled up onto his side.

 

“Was it similar to last night?”

 

“Yeah, I guess...I...was fighting with somebody- I...think it was my mother. She got mad I’d been expelled and then we had a fight about working. I...kept trying to tell her she wasn’t well but she wouldn’t listen--”

 

He stops short, taking a breath.

 

“Between the two lives I can remember, I’d say the life where I struggled with money is the real one...I can remember bits of it and it conflicts with what I remember about being a tennis champion and being in prison…”

 

“And since we already discussed the tattoo proves you were never arrested…those bits are your real life.”

 

The prospect of that suddenly hit Hoshi quite heavily. Just what was his life like- the life he’d used to live? And if his mother really was ill then...what was he doing here? She could be dead for all he knew and he felt something wrap itself around his heart and squeeze.

 

“We will get out of here.” Toujou spoke softly. He tried to smile but it looked and felt far too forced, even for him. 

 

At that moment, Toujou leant down and embraced him tightly. He leant against her shoulder for a moment, before letting his arms wrap around her neck.

 

“What the hell are we doing here…” He murmured.

 

“I wish I knew but we’re close...we’re getting closer to getting out.”

 

They drew back, now feeling a bit more hopeful as they glanced at Shinguji’s sleeping form. “How is he?” Hoshi asked, barely audible.

 

“Physically, I think he’s just fine but...he seems to barely be coping with what he’s done. I suppose losing a chunk of your memories then discovering you tried to kill somebody is rather distressing though I believe Yonaga’s forgiveness has put his mind at ease a little bit.”

 

“I...we all knew it was her and we all knew it was a fuck up but...she seemed alright with it.”

 

“Perhaps the power of God isn’t quite what we think it is.” She smiled, softly. “But...he does seem much different now. I’m sure you’ve noticed…”

 

“He seems a little less, uh...weird.”

 

“Well, that’s one way of putting it.” Toujou hummed. “Before he fell asleep I managed to learn a little bit about him- he’s certainly not as secretive as before.”

 

“What did he say? I mean, the sister thing was...pretty weird, right? I’m sure I heard him mention a sister.”

 

“He absolutely did.” Toujou confirmed. “But when I talked to him he told me again he was an only child but according to him he did often dream of having a big sister- many only children do. Aside from that he told me his family are somewhat wealthy- his father is a historian and his mother is an architect but the way he spoke of them suggested he wasn’t going to follow their footsteps.”

 

“Well…” Hoshi mused, “...that don’t sound odd.”

 

“Well, no, but...his behaviour has certainly changed. He’s a lot more talkative than before- much more willing to talk about himself and...it’s very strange but he’s almost...playful? He has a certain childish element and it’s very, very disorienting.” Toujou admitted and Hoshi snorted. “Never thought I’d see the day but...personality wise it’s not much to go on since we didn’t know all that much about him before. I mean...he could potentially be the person he was before the memory change, right?”

 

“It’s certainly possible but it’s difficult to tell. Luckily…” She dipped her hand into her shirt pocket under her dress and pulled out a small book. “I asked Shinguji if he’d seen this before and he said he hadn’t so I took it.”

 

“J-Jeez, Kirumi...didn’t think you had it in you. What’s in it?”

 

Toujou smiled briefly. “Well if the previous Shinguji’s behaviour was anything to go by...I assumed he kept a diary and my suspicions were correct. He’s been filling this in every day with records of events that have happened and...more.”

 

“More?”

 

“Details of the murder he was to carry out. Apparently a girl had been his target and he’d written out a plan that was supposed to go into effect during the ritual, until Yonaga had accidentally stumbled across him though I do believe giving this back to him is a bad idea. He seems very sure he’d never do such a thing and...perhaps it’s better to leave it that way.”

 

“So he did plan it…”

 

“And not just that, he spoke of his sister very fondly in this too and in such a way that implies that she must’ve passed away but...this Shinguji is certain he is an only child.”

 

“I’m gonna have to talk to him for myself tomorrow, I guess. We’re fuckin’ lucky he survived this. Wouldn’t’ve guessed in a million years he’d potentially be the one to save our asses. Speaking of which, how are you doing…?”

 

“Speaking of asses, how am I doing? I fail to see your logic there.” She smirked and Hoshi snorted, but covered his mouth to muffle himself. “I didn’t mean they were related- I just...oh, c’mon…”

 

“I’ve...truthfully, I’ve had a few clumsy episodes while we were working on chores which is concerning.”

 

The thought of Toujou falling flat on her face shouldn’t have been funny to Hoshi but it was as well as somehow endearing. “You okay?” He asked, trying not to chuckle openly.

 

“Oh, I’m fine, I assure you. I suppose...perhaps I wasn’t as talented as I thought I was.” She sounded almost wistful, leading Hoshi to wonder just what kind of life she lived before arriving here.

 

“Nah. M’sure you’re fine. So...what are we gonna do with Shinguji? Are...we gonna tell him what we know? About the memories?”

 

“I do think it would put his mind at ease regarding Chabashira’s murder but...it’s not like we’re sure this is real. There’s always the chance he could be putting on an act but from what I’ve experienced, he does seem to be genuine.”

 

“But on the offchance he’s fuckin’ us over...we should be careful…”

 

“As true as that is...for some reason I don’t believe Shinguji is the mastermind. I mean- he did write down his plan to murder one of us but the other entries in here suggest he’s just as clueless as we are so...even if he is putting on an act we may not be putting ourselves into an overly dangerous situation. Unless...he plotted for us to find this too...”

 

“Seems to have a thing for girls. I’d keep something to defend yourself- I’ll keep an eye out for you as well.” Hoshi commented, before shooting Toujou a smile. “If you wanna head to bed, I can keep watch over Shinguji.”

 

“No, no, I’m quite alright but I wouldn’t refuse your company.” She beamed, before taking a seat at Shinguji’s desk once more. “I was just reading a book. I have a few here if you’d like one.” She handed Hoshi the stack of books- he glanced at each title before selecting one, taking a seat against the wall beside the desk and began to read.

  
  


The silent company was pleasant, stretching out until the early hours of the morning when Shinguji began to finally stir.

 

“Are you awake? How does your head feel?” Toujou bombarded with him questions, ready to fish out the first aid kit for painkillers if need be, but Shinguji shook his head, swinging his legs out over the side of the bed.

 

“A bit sore, but it’s fine now. You didn’t have to watch over me all night like that.” He smiled, visible from behind his mask. “It was no problem, but we do have some others things we’d like to ask you…”

 

“Is...this about Chabashira?” He sounded solemn, almost remorseful. “Not necessarily, no. Actually what I wanted to ask was how much of your previous life do you remember?”

 

“Huh? Oh, well...I remember my childhood- or as much as anybody can remember of their childhood. I...well, pretty much everything up until now- of course some bits are a patchy at best but it’s all coming together. I’m afraid I don’t have a clue how or why I came to be here though.”

 

“None of us do.” Hoshi told him. “That’s what we’re trying to find out and...you might be able to help us.” Shinguji looked distinctly surprised by this, especially after being suspected for murder and proved to instigate said murder.

 

“Well it’s not often people ask for my help.” He chuckled lightly. “But why not? So...from what Toujou told me yesterday, we’re stuck in a building, forced to kill each other under the eye of a...bear?”

 

“Monokuma- you saw him yesterday.”

 

“Oh, indeed I did. You know Battle Royale has always been one of my favourite works but I never imagined I’d be in such a situation for myself though I’ve always wanted to.” The way he said that could only be described as devilish- he almost seemed to grin from behind his mask but it was hard to tell. 

 

“You’ve...always wanted to?” Toujou raised an eyebrow.

 

“Oh, of course. I mean...not to kill. Just to survive.” The prospect of putting himself in such a situation for fun was disturbing to think about but the finality of his words implied he was incredibly confident he’d survive.

 

“Sayin’ that- you went and got decked over the head with a plank.” Hoshi replied, smartly. Shinguji just...shrugged. “That alone is weird for me. I always knew if ever I was actually in one of these games I’d be able to protect myself but...I wouldn’t plan to kill somebody.” He said in a strangely bright tone, followed by, “Somebody else would end up doing that.”

 

“Somebody has ended up doing that.” Hoshi pointed out. “Three times already. We’re trying to stop them from killing not pitting them against each other. Besides, the rules for this game suggest there can only be one survivor. What would you do if there was two of you left?”

 

Shinguji paused, before responding, “Then I guess I would kill somebody!”

 

But the fear on his face during the trial last night suggested he probably wouldn’t.

 

“That’s not the point.” Toujou reminded, “What we need to know more about are your memories. We…” She trailed, considering the many outcomes of revealing the information to Shinguji but they didn’t have much time before Monokuma produced another motive.

 

“We believe-- no, we know our memories were altered prior to arriving here. Most likely for the purpose of this game. The others don’t know this yet and we’re refraining from telling them in case one of them is the mastermind.”

 

Shinguji seemed to take some time to process the information. “Somebody altered our memories?” Toujou nodded. “After a...short incident…” She glanced at Hoshi, almost guiltily, “...some things came to light. Ryoma began to remember two versions of one event, versions that contradicted each other and we discovered that one was real and one was false. The false being the memories that were given to us by the mastermind, or so we assume.”

 

“Hm...but why would they need to alter our memories?”

 

“We’re not entirely sure but we did discover that some of the motives only affect us due to our altered memories, so...if we were to discover our real memories then perhaps Monokuma wouldn’t have such a big hold over us.”

 

“And...so the amnesia I received after being hit brought back some memories?”

 

“We...think you might actually remember everything. I mean...before you got hit you said you had a sister and…” Hoshi glanced over at the small notebook on the desk. Toujou did say it was probably better for him if he didn’t know just what he was like before the accident but if Shinguji was able to say that the notebook was inaccurate…

 

He snagged it anyway.

 

“This is a diary you wrote before you were injured. It even has you talking about your sister in it along with your plan to murder one of the girls.” 

 

“R-Ryo--” Toujou held up a hand to stop him.

 

“Take a look. Tell me if any of this is true.” He flicked the notebook over to land it Shinguji’s lap. Shinguji picked it up, flicked through it but his expression was unreadable. Toujou became tense- Shinguji didn’t react well yesterday to almost killing somebody.

 

After a while, to their surprise, he began to chuckle. “W-What is this…? Did I write this?”

 

“You did.”

 

He actually laughed a little louder at this. “You must be joking, right? This is...probably the most pretentious bullshit I’ve ever read.” He grinned lazily from behind his mask, before tossing the book aside, leaving Toujou and Hoshi open mouthed.

 

“You can’t seriously think I wrote that? What...kind of person was I before I got hit?”

 

“Uh...strange. You seemed to find everything beautiful in some way or another and-- I dunno you were a bit of an oddball.” Hoshi replied, truthfully, causing Shinguji to laugh almost bitterly. “Well, I can assure you I’m not that person anymore. I can’t even imagine being that kind of person.” He rubbed the back of his head. “I’d just piss myself off.”

 

“Never thought I’d see the day where I’d hear you say that.” Hoshi remarked. “Either way...since it’s likely some of our personalities were warped by the memories too...does this mean all your memories are your real ones?”

 

“Well I...I hope so. Nothing seems to be out of place but like I said before some of it is patchy. Aside from that I don’t remember before coming here. It’s like that portion of my memories are completely gone.”

 

“I think that might be the same for all of us but if we manage to gain our old memories, we might be able to piece together how we came to be here.” Toujou explained. “So...if you really have unlocked all of your real memories then you’ll be a great help.”

 

“Well...from what’s written in that journal, I can’t imagine I’m the same person as the one you knew before. I relate to none of that.” He replied simply, prompting Toujou to think. He doesn’t remember writing it and, in turn, doesn’t relate or understand to the writings in the book.

 

“Shinguji...may I ask a question?”

 

“Of course.”

 

Toujou paused, glancing over at Hoshi.

 

“How much do you know about anthropology?”

 

“Anthro-what now?”

 

…

 

Toujou was...stunned. In fact, that might’ve been an overstatement. Despite knowing full well Shinguji was now not the same person as before those sounds coming from his lips still shocked her. Shinguji seemed to be in thought for several moments.

 

“Anthro...pology. Oh, that’s...the study of humans, no? Well it’s not something I’m...overly familiar with but I’m aware of some customs around the world if that counts for anything. Why did you want to know?”

 

This...this was not Shinguji- or at least the Shinguji they knew. 

 

Which meant they were finally getting somewhere. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> anthropology? don't know her


End file.
